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HISTORY 



REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 






HISTORY 



REFORMATION IN ENGLAND, 



BY REV. J. A. SPENCER, A. M. 

AUTHOR OP " THE CHRISTIAN INSTRUCTED IN THE WAYS OF THE GOSPEL 
AND THE CHURCH," ETC., ETC. 



NEW- YORK: 

STANFORD AND SWORDS, 

No. 139, Broadway. 

1846. 



"mm THftilMiO^ 



*•»« 



IAN 2* 1908 



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«»a 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1346 5 by 
J. A. SPENCER, 

in the Clerk's Office of the Southern District of New York. 



PBINTED BY JOHN B. M'GOWIT, 
128 FULTON STBEET. 



It 



67 



PREFACE. 



In venturing to lay before the public a volume on the 
subject of the English Reformation, the author is not 
unaware of the difficulties connected with itj neither is he 
so presumptuous as to imagine that any thing new can be 
presented by him on this deeply interesting portion of 
Church history. He does not pretend to any originality, 
or to the possession of any peculiar qualifications for the 
task he has chosen. All that he claims is this ; to have 
carefully sought exactness and precision in regard to facts 
and circumstances ; to have consulted every writer within 
his reach in order to verify the statements made in the 
text; to have endeavored to be strictly just and fair 
towards all parties and persons ; and to have set forth the 
public acts of the Church and State as faithfully as he 
was able, and as fully as the limits of the volume would 
admit. 



i¥ Preface. 

He has had one object ever before him, viz., to induct 
the reader to feel and appreciate the need and value of the 
Reformation ; and consequently he has written earnestly, 
and strongly, and plainly, on the point of papistical errors 
and abominations, and never hesitated to call things by 
their right names, whether in Protestant or Roman 
Catholic. 

He will be pardoned, he trusts, for expressing the hope 
that the volume will be found serviceable in making Pro- 
testants somewhat better acquainted with the history of 
the great Reform in England, and especially in training 
up the youth of the present day in the sound principles 
then established. If half the pleasure is felt in reading, 
that the author has had in writing on this fruitful topic, 
he will deem himself amply repaid. 

New- York, November 20th. 1846. 



CONTENTS. 



Intro duction. 



CHAPTER I. 

a. d. 1485—1534. 

Henry VII. — prince Arthur—Katharine of Arragon — prince 
Henry — marriage — education and abilities — efforts of 
Grostete, WicklirTe and others — causes at work leading to 
Reformation — question of the divorce — Henry's motives — • 
vexatiousness of the question — pope's dilemma — Cran- 
mer's advice — Gardiner — how settled — Henry marries 
Anne Boleyn — Cranmer made archbishop — papal supre- 
macy abolished — prospects of the Reformation. - . 33 

CHAPTER II. 

a. d. 1534—1539, 

The king's supremacy — Fisher and More refuse to take the 
oath — are executed — visitation of the monasteries — Crom« 
well — 'his life and character — reasons requiring the visita* 



VI CONTENTS. 

tion — motives of the king and court — motives of the Re- 
formers — results of the visitation- — state of the convents 
— dissolution of the smaller ones — death of queen Anne 
Boleyn — wickedness of the act — Jane Seymour — articles 
of doctrine and practice — royal proclamation — effect of 
breaking up the monasteries — insurrections — pilgrimage 
of grace — new visitation ordered — report of the visitors — 
impostures and deceit in the religious houses — exceptions 
— dissolution of the monasteries actually necessary — 
shameful perversion of their wealth, and wasteful wicked- 
ness of the king — good flowing from evil. 54 

CHAPTER III. 

a.d. 1539—1547. 

State of things at this date — popish schemes — martyrs — 
John Lambert — proclamation against marriage of priests 
— act of Six Articles — abstract of them — Latimer and 
Shaxton resign their bishoprics — effect of the articles — 
birth of Edward — death of the queen — Henry's marriage 
to Anne of Cleves — disgraceful termination of the match 
— Cromwell's fall — Romish ascendancy — Cranmer's bible 
■ — Gardiner's scheme to nullify the English version — new 
queen — Anne Askew — her martyrdom — difficulties and 
trials of the Reformers — Litany in English — King's Pri- 
mer — close of Henry's reign — evils of the Reformation — 
encouragements in prospect — advances made — Henry's 
death and character — reflections on God's providence. - 73 

CHAPTER IV. 

a. d. 1547—1549. 

Edward VI. — his high and noble character — Edward Sey- 
mour, lord protector — his character — spoliations of church 
property — evils of rash zeal — images destroyed in churches 



CONTENTS. Vll 

— general visitation — necessity of it — First Book of Homi- 
lies — Gardiner and Bonner in trouble — act of communion 
in both kinds — Six Article act repealed — chantries, chap- 
els, &c, given to royal treasury — images ordered to be 
entirely removed — revision of the liturgy — proceedings of 
the committee — Cranmer's catechism — First Book of king 
Edward VI. — -how it differs from the present Book of 
Common Prayer — its value not to be denied. - - - 91 

CHAPTER V. 

a. n. 1549—1551. 

Opposition to the new book — insurrections— ecclesiastical 
visitation — transubstantiation under discussion — doctrine 
of the Church of England on the Eucharist — public dispu- 
tations — Joan Bocher-- licentiousness of opinion and prac= 
tice — Bonner deprived — Ridley translated to London — 
Ridley's visitation — ordination offices—distinguished fo- 
reigners — troubles of a new kind — contrast between En- 
glish and continental Reformation — Cranmer's settled 
views on the subject of the ministry — forty-two articles — 
thirty -nine adopted — not Calvinistic — how to be inter- 
preted. - - - 107 

CHAPTER VI. 
a. d. 1551—1553. 

Clergy driven abroad by Six Article act — Hooper — scruples 
about clerical robes — Bucer and Martyr decide against 
him — sent to prison — assents — consecrated bishop — Hoop- 
er's motives sincere — unfortunate result of this trouble — 
revision of Book of Common Prayer — changes introduced 
— Ridley's sermon — Gardiner degraded — Ponet his suc- 
cessor — Somerset's fall — beheaded — Warwick's course — 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

passed by parliament, 1552 — dreadful licentiousness of 
opinion and practice — evils of the Reformation — destruc- 
tion of property and manuscripts — mysterious dispensa- 
tion of Providence — Edward's sickness — death — charac- 
ter — fearful trial in prospect. ----- 120 

CHAPTER VII. 

a. d. 1553—1555. 

Lady Jane Grey — her character — manner in which she 
was elevated to the throne — eleven days queen — Mary 
mounts the throne — Jane beheaded — promised toleration 
— duplicity of the queen — course determined on — indecent 
haste in restoring popish practices — Hooper imprisoned — 
Cranmer sent to the tower — prisons soon crowded with 
Reformers— their courage and constancy — Commendone 
papal emissary in England — doings in parliament — Span- 
ish match greatly disliked — Gardiner opposes it— Philip's 
character — result — marriage takes place — convocation 
meets — its acts — public discussions — unfairness — popish 
taunt — Romish bishops appointed — Cranmer, Ridley, La- 
timer borne down by clamor and abuse — re -action — res- 
pite for a while — Elizabeth saved by Philip — Cardinal 
Pole papal legate — absolves the nation — queen's sacri- 
fices — persecuting statutes revived — Pole's feelings — po- 
licy resolved upon. - -136 

CHAPTER VIII. 

a. d. 1555 1558. 

Year 1555 memorable — persecution set on foot — John Ro- 
gers proto-martyr — Laurence Saunders — bishop Hooper 
martyred at Gloucester — Rowland Taylor burnt — his 
code of laws for the Church — never completed — bills 



CONTENTS. ix 

character — papists disappointed — Ferrar, Bradford, Phil- 
pott and others burnt — number of the martyrs during 
Mary's reign — bishops Ridley and Latimer burnt at Ox- 
ford — their characters — Latimer's last words — Cranmer 
reserved a while — cited to appear before the pope — 
condemned for contumacy — degraded by Bonner and 
Thirlby— Cranmer's recantations — how obtained — dupli- 
city of the queen and court — malice overshooting the 
mark — the archbishop retracts his recantation — scene in 
St. Mary's church, Oxford — Cranmer burnt — Pole made 
archbishop — his character — persecution unabated — effect 
of this — universities visited — doings of the visitors — Calais 
taken— unpopularity of the government — Mary's death — 
Pole's death — character of Mary. 152 

CHAPTER IX. 

a. d. 1558—1563. 

Elizabeth's accession — her great popularity — hopes and ex- 
pectations raised — character and policy of the queen — 
decidedly in favor of the Reformation, yet cautious- — 
wisdom of her measures — contrast between Mary's and 
Elizabeth's course — crowned by the bishop of Carlisle — 
Romish bishops refuse to join in the ceremony — acts of 
parliament — supreme governor — public discussion — bi- 
shops deprived — clergy take the oath — Parker archbishop 
— consecration — Nag's Head fable — poverty of clergy — 
low state of learning — Jewel's apology — acts of convo- 
cation — articles adopted — second book of Homilies — Re- 
formation substantially completed - - - 172 

Conclusion 184 

Appendix I. - - ^ 192 

II. - 195 

III - . - - - 196 



X CONTENTS. 

Appendix IV. - 19? 

V. 200 

VI. 203 

VII. - - 205 



INTRODUCTION. 



The Reformation in England is one of the great 
and leading eras in history. It deserves careful 
examination, or rather thorough study, on the 
part of all who love the truth : it claims the at- 
tention of every one who desires the prosperity 
of the Church of God, and the welfare of the 
human race ; for no event in modern times has 
had a more marked and wide spread effect upon 
the best interests of mankind than this, and at 
no period, probably, can the hand of Divine 
Providence be more distinctly seen in the guid- 
ing and overruling care which the great Head 
of the Church ever exercises, than in the various 
and strong reasons moving to reformation, the 
grounds on which it was based, the agents con- 
cerned in its commencement and progress, and 
the steps taken to bring it to a completion. 
2 



10 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

Most of readers have often heard, and probably 
read something about the great change in reli- 
gious matters which took place in England in the 
sixteenth century, and which is commonly called 
the Reformation. It is frequently a topic of con- 
versation and discussion ; and not only the men 
who were active both for and against the Refor- 
mation, but also the motives of their conduct, are 
speculated upon and counted worthy of praise 
or censure. In various ways and from various 
sources information is acquired, and there is 
hardly any one but can tell something about the 
life and doings of that bad man and cruel tyrant, 
Henry VIII. ; about that lovely and excellent 
young king, Edward VI. ; the unfortunate Lady 
Jane Grey ; the blinded and bigotted queen 
Mary ; the imperious but wise and cautious 
queen Elizabeth ; the lordly Wolsey, the politic 
Cromwell, the vain Somerset, the unscrupulous 
Northumberland, the sagacious Cecil ; or about 
the great and good men who died as martyrs to 
the truth which the Church of England holds — 
as Cranmer, Ridley, Latimer, Hooper, Taylor, 
Philpott, Bradford, and others ; or the many 
persecutions to which the cause of our holy re- 
ligion was subjected during those eventful times. 



INTRODUCTION. 11 

Something, more or less, is known by all in- 
telligent readers on these points ; but yet we 
fear that few see or think how deeply they are 
in reality interested in the Reformation, and 
how necessary it is that they be assured that it 
was absolutely required, and that it was con- 
ducted in a proper and lawful manner ; and 
still more we fear that most of those who are 
now enjoying the blessings of the pure Gospel 
are not fully aware, that unless the Reformation 
in England can be defended and shown to be 
what the truth actually demanded, their fathers 
were guilty of schism, if not of heresy, and they 
themselves are partakers with them in those sins 
so pointedly condemned in God's holy Word.* 

Now, in our view, there is a deficiency in the 
education of every one, whether young or old, 
who does not know the grounds on which the 
Church of England renounced the usurped and 
tyrannical dominion of the pope of Rome ; trans- 
lated the Holy Scriptures into the common lan- 
guage, that is, the language used and spoken 
by the people of England ; and so arranged its 
public services as that all could understand 
what was said, all could join in the prayers 

* 1 Cor. i. 10—12 ; Gal. v. 20 ; 2 Pet. ii. 1 ; &c. 



12 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

and praises offered to Almighty God, and that 
none of the superstitions and absurdities of pre- 
vious practices should be admitted into theChurch. 

Being fully convinced of this fact, and being 
desirous, so far as we can, to supply this defi- 
ciency, we have determined to draw up a brief 
sketch of the Reformation in England, in which it 
will be shown why it was necessary, how it was 
conducted and who were concerned in it, its 
final accomplishment, and that there are sound 
and conclusive reasons whereby it is to be de- 
fended against all papistical attacks whatsoever. 

Before beginning with the regular history of 
the Reformation, as commenced in earnest in 
the time of Henry VIII., (about a. d. 1530,) it 
will be necessary to go back some distance to 
get at the reasons and causes which led to such 
a state of things in religion as that this change 
or reformation was absolutely demanded. We 
shall do this as briefly and plainly as possible. 

The Gospel was preached very early in Bri- 
tain ; some learned writers assert that St. Paul 
himself visited this island, and proclaimed the 
truth there in person. It is not improbable, cer- 
tainly not impossible, that he did so, though at 
the same time it cannot be clearly proved.* 

* Clemens Romanus says that St. Paul preached as far as " the 



INTRODUCTION. 13 

Thus much however is certain, that within a 
hundred and fifty years after our Lord's Nati- 
vity, the Church had been planted in Britain, 
and the glad tidings of great joy had been spread 
over a large portion of the island. 

Not much is known certainly of the history of 
the British Church for a long time after this. 
The heathen Saxons from the continent, invited 
at first by the Britons to assist them against the 
Picts and Scots in the north, liked England so 
well, and learned to entertain so great contempt 
for the people, that they made an invasion, a. d. 
449, and not only overturned the civil govern- 
ment, and reduced the country to complete sub- 
jection, but also almost entirely crushed and 
destroyed Christianity. 

For about one hundred and fifty years, the 
knowledge of the truth was confined to the 
mountainous districts, principally in Wales, 



utmost bounds of the west." St. Jerome, that he labored unto 
" the western " parts. Theodoret, that he brought salvation to the 
" Isles of the Ocean ;" and that after his release from Rome he 
travelled into Spain and other nations. Writers of the sixth and 
seventh centuries expressly mention his mission to the island. The 
late Bishop Burgess, after a careful examination of the subject, was 
fully convinced that St. Paul indisputably visited Britain. — Bates's 
" College Lectures on Ecclesiastical History" p. 179. 



14 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

where the remnant of the Britons and the Welsh 
still maintained their liberty. 

Gregory I. was consecrated bishop of Rome, 
a. d. 590. Having on a certain occasion, before 
he assumed the office of a bishop, accidentally 
beheld some young persons brought from Eng- 
land and offered for sale as slaves, he was struck 
with their personal beauty, so different from 
that of the Italians, and determined to attempt 
the conversion of their fellow-countrymen.* 

By his elevation to the bishopric he was pre- 
vented from undertaking the mission in person ; 

* Gregory, walking one day in the forum or market-place, saw 
some very handsome youths exposed to sale. Inquiring of what 
country they were, he was informed they were of the island of 
Britain. " Are the inhabitants of that island Christians or pagans ? " 
" They are pagans," was the reply. " Alas ! " said he, deeply 
sighing, " that the Prince of Darkness should possess countenances 
so luminous, and that so fair a front should carry minds so destitute 
of eternal grace. What is the name of the nation ? " " Angli," it 
was said. " In truth they have angelic countenances, and it is a 
pity they should not be co-heirs with angels in heaven. What is 
the province from whence they come ? " " Deira," that is, North- 
umberland, he was told. " It is well," said he ; " De ira," snatched 
from the wrath of God and called to the mercy of Christ. " What 
is the name of their king? " " Ella," was the answer. In allusion 
to the name, he said : " Alleluia should be sung to God in those 
regions." This was before he became bishop of Rome, which event 
occurring shortly after, prevented his going on a mission himself to 
far distant England. 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

but on that account he did not abandon his be- 
nevolent project. He prevailed upon Augustin, 
a zealous monk, to take with him forty other 
monks, and go to England for the purpose of 
preaching the Gospel to the ignorant and un- 
godly heathen. They obtained interpreters in 
France, landed in the isle of Thanet, in Kent, 
a. d. 596, were favorably received by Ethel- 
bert, king of Kent, and were permitted to settle 
in Canterbury, and enter upon their labor of 
love. Their success was very great, and Austin 
was finally raised to the dignity of archbishop 
of England. 

Before his death, a. d. 605, he endeavored 
to unite the Churches of the Welsh and British 
with those formed among the Saxons ; but as he 
demanded concessions which they were unwil- 
ling to grant,* and acted in a haughty and over- 
bearing manner, the plan failed entirely. A 
second effort, not long after, met with the same 

* The concessions demanded were these : that they should keep 
Easter at the Roman time, should use the forms of that Church in 
baptizing, and should preach to the Saxons. As they had derived 
their customs from the eastern Christians through Gallic teachers, 
and as they were embittered against the Saxon invaders, they 
refused to agree to Austin's proposed basis of union. Their principal 
objection however seems to have been to the archbishop's imperious 
manner. 



16 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

ill success. The Churches were however finally 
united under the primacy of Theodore, arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, about seventy-five years 
after the death of Austin. 

By the year 678, all the Heptarchy, or seven 
Saxon provinces or kingdoms, had become nom- 
inally Christians. Subsequently, the Danes in- 
vaded England, and the Church as well as the 
whole country, suffered grievously from the in- 
cursions of these fierce and lawless pirates. 

Alfred, who came to the throne a. d. 872, not 
only repulsed these Danish marauders, but also 
introduced literature, which had been almost 
extinguished, and established wholesome laws 
and regulations. He endeavored also, and with 
considerable success, to promote a love for and 
a knowledge of the Scriptures of truth. His 
reign was an honor to himself, a blessing to his 
country, and of great service to the Church. 

After this, a. d. 1066, William the Conqueror 
landed in England, and acted with great injustice 
and harshness towards the nation generally, and 
towards the Church in particular. The priests 
of native origin were ejected in numerous in- 
stances, the vacancies were filled with foreign 
priests and monks, and the chief offices in the 
Church as well as State were given to the ad- 



INTRODUCTION. 17 

herents of the Norman duke. His son, William 
Rufus, went still farther in his efforts to depress 
and ruin the Church and religion generally, and 
to gratify his evil lust of plunder and rapine. 
His successors were sometimes better and some- 
times worse : now the Church was favored, 
now depressed : at one time its privileges re- 
spected, at another it was treated with scorn 
and contumely ; at one time the priests and re- 
ligious orders were in the ascendancy and lorded 
it proudly over the civil authority ; at another a 
resolute king would hold in effectual check the 
ambitious prelates and monks, and compel obe- 
dience ; so that in fact there was a perpetual 
struggle going on between the kings and nobles 
on the one hand, who tyrannized over the people 
and set no bounds to their desires after gain, 
and on the other, between the growing power, 
wealth and influence of the Church, as they had 
gradually become consolidated in the see of 
Rome. 

In this brief notice of the civil history of Eng- 
land and the Church, we have said nothing of 
the mode in which the Gospel was preached, of 
the manners and morals of the clergy, the prin- 
ciples of the heads of affairs in the Church, and 
of the doctrines which were promulgated, age 
2* 



18 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

after age, as being the truth of God in its purity 
and integrity. We must pay close attention to 
these things if we would understand how error, 
false doctrine, corruption in life and manners, 
and superstition, were gradually introduced and 
made their way, until the whole Church was 
tainted with these leprous spots, and reforma- 
tion, that is, restoring things to their primitive 
purity and soundness, was loudly demanded on 
all hands. 

Now, we know that even in the days of the 
Apostles error had crept in, and heresies had 
sprung up ; but they were repressed almost im- 
mediately by the watchfulness of those set in 
authority in the Church, and they made no pro- 
gress worth speaking of, among the early Chris- 
tians. These were men of undoubted purity 
and consistent piety ; led by the Spirit of God, 
they had become members of His Church from 
conviction alone, at a time when terrible perse- 
cution and trials of the hardest kind to bear, 
awaited the follower of the cross at every step. 
Hence, for many, many long years, the Church 
was pure and sound ; the Gospel was read and 
studied, and made the rule of action ; persecu- 
tion from without knit closer and closer the 
bands of brotherly love and union in the cause 



INTRODUCTION. 19 

of their common Master ; occasional differences 
and disputes never marred the concord and 
agreement of the whole Church in those things 
which the Saviour and His Apostles had settled 
and appointed ; and we cannot but be struck 
with the numerous instances of strong fraternal 
sympathy and affection to which the days of 
trial gave occasion, and brought into active ex- 
ercise. 

But, by-and-by, a change came over the face 
of things ; persecution ceased ; the civil power, 
pagan intolerance, Jewish malignity, all com- 
bined, could not overthrow the Church, or crush 
the religion of the cross ; and so after a time, 
some three hundred years after our Lord's 
death, the flames of persecution burned out, the 
stormy trials ceased, and the Church became 
established as the religion of the civilized world. 
It had rest from its enemies, and they who were 
called Christians had no longer need to hide 
themselves or be ashamed or afraid to confess 
Christ before men. Christianity became the re- 
ligion of the state ; the pagan temples were con- 
verted into Christian churches ; the wealth and 
resources of a false system by degrees flowed 
into the treasury of those who preached Jesus 
and Him crucified, and great good was the 



20 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

result for a time. But, after a while, worldly 
prosperity begat indolence and indifference ; as 
power increased and dignity was added, the 
love of power and dignity grew by what it fed 
upon, and stretched itself farther and farther, 
and grasped at higher and higher things ; ease 
of position led to speculation on subjects of no 
real profit, and to discussion of hard and deep 
and perplexing questions ; slight differences of 
opinion by degrees grew into irreconcileable 
variances ; rash and foolish expressions were 
magnified on the one hand into heretical depar- 
ture from the truth, and on the other defended 
and insisted upon with pertinacity and head- 
strong obstinacy. Ere long, greater pomp and 
outward show were introduced into the public 
worship of the Church ; the houses of God were 
like vast and imposing temples ; new ceremonies 
were brought in ; new ideas broached on several 
points ; and things in themselves innocent and 
useful, were perverted to purposes injurious to 
the people's spiritual health. 

The relics of great and good men, which 
every one will confess it is a dictate of human 
nature to treat with respect and care, im- 
perceptibly came to be regarded with reve- 
rence and awe ; churches were erected over 



INTRODUCTION. 21 

the spot where martyrs suffered, and the birth- 
days of their martyrdom were observed ; their 
bones, or whatever remained of them, were col- 
lected and carefully preserved, not for the pur- 
poses of worship or any thing so abominable, 
but from the natural feeling of affection which 
we all have for what has belonged to a near 
and dear friend. By-and-by, however, super- 
stitious notions found place among Christians 
respecting the relics of holy and good men. 
They supposed some virtue or efficacy to belong 
to or reside in them ; some weak and ill in- 
formed persons imagined themselves to have 
derived benefit from them ; and in the course of 
time it was confidently said and taught that 
relics of all sorts could work miracles ! 

The elements of bread and wine in the Lord's 
Supper, which so aptly and forcibly represent 
the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, after a 
time were spoken of in exalted terms, and with 
awful mysteriousness. Men of fervid imagina- 
tions and glowing eloquence, dwelt upon the 
unspeakable value and benefits of the one great 
sacrifice, and the preciousness of the Body and 
Blood of Christ, and while they urged these 
that they might magnify the sacrament and 
draw the people to the Lord's table, used Ian- 



22 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

guage which seemed to imply — which perhaps 
in some instances did imply — that the elements 
of bread and wine were no longer material 
substance, but changed by a miracle into the 
actual, literal flesh and blood of the glorified 
Redeemer ! so that at last the monstrous dogma 
of transubstantiation became the prevailing doc- 
trine in the Church. 

Prayers commemorating the pious dead, and 
supplicating increased felicity for them, were ■ 
early used in the Church; but, by a strange 
perversion, the notion was started that men 
might pray for the souls of any or all the de- 
parted, bad as w T ell as good, and that their 
prayers might avail to help the dead, w r ho it 
was thought were undergoing a purging process, 
by which at last they might be fitted to join the 
holy dead in bliss and peace. This pernicious 
conceit of purgatory arose out of vain specula- 
tions. Certain men of philosophical turn of mind 
— especially Origen and Augustine — misunder- 
standing some passages of Scripture, thought 
that there was to be a purging fire through 
which all — not even the Apostles excepted — 
should pass, sometime between death and the 
resurrection. By-and-by, it was asserted that 
this was the fact, and prayers were ordered 



INTRODUCTION. 23 

for souls in purgatory : the idea was pleasing 
enough to those who lived in sin as long as they 
could, and hoped in some way or other to get 
to heaven at last ; and so from speculation and 
doubt, and mixing it up with prayers for the 
dead, as first used, this notion became the doc- 
trine to which all subscribed. 

Pictures and images, at first introduced with 
no bad but rather good intention, soon produced 
great mischief, and after a while they were 
wondered at, looked at with awe, and finally 
worshipped. The Saints, too, whom they were 
meant to represent, were called upon and prayed 
to, and their intercession besought in most ex- 
travagant and wicked terms. 

The clergy, as these corruptions spread, be- 
came more and more powerful, and at last 
despotic ; they grew rich and monopolized all 
the learning and knowledge ; the people grew 
more and more ignorant and superstitious ; the 
Holy Scriptures they knew not how to read, 
even if copies could have been easily obtained ; 
and instead of the pure Word of God read in 
their ears, as is our blessed privilege, they were 
deluded and befooled with ridiculous legends 
and stories, worse than nursery tales and things 
of that sort. Pilgrimages and penances were 



24 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

imposed upon them ; they were taught that 
money could purchase forgiveness of sin; that 
the holy sacrament of the Lord's Supper, if 
only partaken of, would certainly help onward 
towards heaven ; that prayers to the Virgin 
would be heard and answered ; that repeating 
the words alone of prayers had efficacy ; that 
almsgiving and good works could buy merit in 
the sight of God ; that confession to a priest and 
absolution were essential; that private or soli- 
tary masses by the priest were effectual for the 
living and the dead ; and many other things of 
the kind. 

Last of all, though by no means least in its 
effects upon the world and the Church, the 
pope's supremacy grew to be an article of faith. 
He was not only thought to be the head of the 
Church, the centre of its unity, and Christ's vice- 
gerent on earth, but he was called the lord over 
kings and all civil rulers. He was infallible, 
i. e. could not say or do wrong, and whatever 
he said was right and true, as if revealed from 
heaven. He claimed subservience from all, 
every where. He demanded tribute from every 
nation and people, and pretended to unite in 
himself the headship of the Church and absolute 
rule over it, with the government of a province 



INTRODUCTION. 25 

in Italy. The bishops were every where de- 
pressed, their rightful authority interfered with, 
and generally taken away; various societies 
were instituted, who acted as servants and sol- 
diers of the pope, and proved themselves useful 
emissaries throughout the world for upholding 
the supremacy and infallibility of the bishop of 
Rome, and for worrying, vexing, and spying 
out the doings of kings and princes, as well as 
of the bishops and clergy, engaged in the duties 
of their calling at home. 

Our readers must observe that these great 
and sore evils came upon the Church by de- 
grees. They did not grow up in a night : they 
did not all spring up at once ; neither were they 
all caused by corrupt motives or a designed 
deception on the part of the clergy and others. 
They were slow in their growth ; it took years 
and centuries ere they attained full vigor or 
were carried out to their final developments. 
Other causes, too, were at work, which helped 
on the progress of corruption in faith and cor- 
responding corruption in life and manners. The 
civil commotions and broils consequent upon the 
dissolution of the Roman empire, the violent and 
savage inroads of the northern hordes who swept 
.over the plains of the south with the speed of 



26 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

the whirlwind, the continual and bloody warfare 
which century after century was waged between 
petty princes and states, between kings and 
vassals, and between the roving freebooter and 
the recognized government, all had their effect — 
and a most injurious effect— upon the truth and 
integrity of those w T ho were set to preach the 
Gospel. Nor need we wonder that ignorance 
the most deplorable, licentiousness of the most 
horrible kind, and lawless disregard of the purity 
and excellence of the Gospel, overspread the 
world and brought upon that period the expres- 
sive name of the " Dark Ages." These things 
must not be forgotten in looking back upon the 
past and in endeavoring to judge rightly of those 
fearful times. We must not lose sight of the fact, 
that when the people were grievously oppressed 
and ground into the very dust by tyrants and 
their minions, the Church was all that stood be- 
tween them and their oppressors, and the Church 
gave them liberty and privileges, and opened 
wide for them an asylum which no where else 
could be had. Nor again, if we would rightly 
understand these things, must we be unmindful 
of the many and severe trials to which the clergy 
were subjected in such a state of society, and the 
manifold temptations on every side to abuse that 



INTRODUCTION. 27 

power which rightly belongs to them, and to grasp 
at wealth and influence when so easy of acquisition, 
We say not these things to excuse the guilt 
and wickedness of those who made gain of re- 
ligion, and had corrupted it to a fearful degree ; 
by no means ; we can use no language too strong 
in condemnation of the abominable errors and 
corruptions every where prevalent before the 
Reformation ; we can employ no terms too forci- 
ble to express our horror of the deep degradation 
into which the truth had sunk ; but at the same 
time we wish to do justice, and to avoid the 
wholesale mode of condemnation which looks 
neither at the circumstances nor the occasion, nor 
the men, nor their privileges or lack of privileges. 
We w^ould not have our readers think that amid 
the great and thick darkness of those fearful 
ages, there were no gleams of light, and no in- 
stances of deep and fervent piety and devotion 
acceptable to God : it were grievous wrong done 
to our forefathers to assert such a thing. We 
would not have them suppose that all was mid- 
night gloom and impenetrable blackness, and 
that the cheering beams of the Sun of Righteous- 
ness were never seen or felt : there is evidence 
to the contrary, and there is good ground for the 
belief that God had reserved to himself many 



28 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

thousands who had not bowed the knee to Baal. 
We would not that our readers should be so vain 
and conceited as to count — as is sometimes done 
— the men of those days, fools or idiots, with no 
learning, no powers of mind, no acuteness of 
intellect, no moral perceptions : — this would be 
foolishly extravagant and unjust, since it requires 
but little study and examination of the Middle 
Ages to see how absurd it is to bring such charges 
against all who lived before the Reformation. 
We trust that none of us are so unjust and un- 
generous ; and while we abate not our horror and 
aversion towards the abominable corruptions of 
the truth, and the deep depravity of the world 
sunk in ignorance and sin, we may charitably 
hope and believe that the Saviour shone into the 
hearts of many a one in those trying times, and 
will have from among them many sons unto glory 
in the last great day of account. 

We have said that these corruptions in doctrine 
and manners were the growth of centuries ; and 
we call especial attention to this fact, because of 
its affording so conclusive arguments against the 
novelties and innovations of popery, and so entire 
a justification of the course pursued by the En- 
glish Reformers, who, while they rejected what 
was new, held fast to the ancient truths taught 



INTRODUCTION. 29 

and established by the Apostles. A brief ex- 
amination of only a few points will fully establish 
the truth of our assertion. No. doubt the early 
Church, from the frequency of martyrdom, es- 
teemed the relics of holy men, and preserved 
them with great care ; but any thing like worship 
of them or expectation of miraculous virtues from 
them, was so far from being entertained in the 
early Church or thought of, that when the heathen 
insinuated a charge of this kind, it was indignantly 
repelled,* and it was not till the seventh and 

* The " Martyrdom of Polycarp," a most valuable and interesting 
document, gives us a case in point. When this holy man suffered 
at the stake, (a. d. 167,) many of his friends wished to preserve 
some relic of him, as a memento of his greatness and goodness- 
But it was not allowed, a certain Jew malignantly suggesting that 
if they were permitted to do thus, they might forsake the crucified 
Lord and Saviour, and worship Polycarp instead. Now, how did 
the Church of Smyrna answer this wicked charge ? did they admit 
it, or try as the Romanists do, to join the veneration and invocation 
of Polycarp with the worship due to the Lord God 1 No, their 
language is worthy o° especial note: — " It is impossible for us, 
either ever to forsake Christ, who suffered for the salvat'on of all 
such as shall be saved throughout the whole world (the righteous 
for the ungodly) or to worship any other. But for the martyrs, we 
worthily love them, as the disciples and imitators of our Lord, on 
account of their exceeding great love toward their Master and 
King ; of whom may we also be made companions and fellow- 
disciples." To the same effect are the sentiments of St. Augustine 
(a. d. 390,) " Let us not count the adoration of dead men a reli- 
gious act ; because, if they lived piously, they are not so though 



30 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

following centuries that they were so unduly and 
wickedly esteemed. 

Transubstantiation (i. e. the change of the 
bread and wine into the body, blood, soul and 
divinity of the glorified Saviour, so that bread 
and wine no longer remains, but only the literal 
flesh and blood of the Saviour,) though taught in 
part as early as the second council of Nice, a. d. 
787, and carried still farther by Paschasius Rad- 
bert, 831, was not fully established as an article 
of faith till the Lateran Council, under Innocent 

III., A. D. 1215.* 

Purgatory was at first a matter of mere specu- 
lation, on the part of Origen in the third century, 
and of doubt by St. Austin and others in the 

of as if they desired such honors : but they wish us to adore Him, 
by whose illumination they rejoice that we are made partakers of 
His merits. They are therefore to be honored for their example's 
sake, not worshipped as a matter of religion." — De Vera Religions, 
c. 55. 

* In the year 787 the second Council of Nice began with a rash 
determination that the sacred symbols are not figures or images at 
all, but the very body and blood. About 831, Paschasius Radbertus 
carried it further, even to transubstantiation, or somewhat very 
like it. The name of transubstantiation is supposed to have come 
in about a. d. 1100, first mentioned by Hildebertus Cenomanensis 
of that time. In the year 1215 the doctrine was made an article 
of faith by the Lateran Council, under Innocent III. — Dr. Water- 
land, Works, vol. vii. p. 1&2. 



INTRODUCTION. 31 

foiiirth and fifth centuries. The pope and council 
of Florence, a. d. 1439, settled the notions of 
purgatory as now held in the Romish Church, 
and made it a part of the faith to be believed in 
its present corrupting, vile and anti-scriptural 
form. 

Pictures and images were expressly forbidden 
by the early Church ; they were introduced, as 
helps to devotion, in the fourth century, and the 
worship of them began about a. d. 092 ; the 
second council of Nice, a. d. 787, sanctioned 
them, though nearly every where in the west 
they were long opposed. At the same period, 
and probably connected with these, came in the 
invocation of saints and martyrs, and the worship 
of the Virgin Mary. 

The supremacy of the pope was the effect of 
circumstances, partly, and in a great measure 
the result of ambition. The bishop of Rome, of 
course, in consequence of the importance of the 
imperial city, was a person of great influence 
and weight — his opinion was consulted — his ad- 
vice asked — and when the seat of empire was 
transferred to Constantinople, he became still 
more important, being less under the restraint of 
the civil power, and his influence gradually in- 
creased more and more : finally, ambitious men 



32 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

from time to time being raised to the papacy, 
wished, and spent all their efforts, to extend its 
power and make it supreme over all in Church 
and State. This result was accomplished in the 
eleventh and twelfth centuries. 

With this brief introductory view of the causes 
which led to the demand throughout the Church 
for reformation, and with the hope that our rea- 
ders appreciate in some degree at least the justice 
and necessity of this demand, we invite their 
attention to the history of the Reformation in 
England, as actually entered upon in the time of 
Henry VIII. 



CHAPTER I, 



a. d. 1485—1534. 

Henry VII. — Prince Arthur — Katharine of Arragon — Prince Henry 
— marriage — education and abilities — efforts of Grostete, Wickliffe 
and others — causes at work leading to reformation — questiono f 
the divorce — Henry's motives — vexatiousness of the question — - 
pope's dilemma — Cranmer's advice — Gardiner — how settled — 
Henry marries Anne Boleyn — Cranmer made Archbishop — 
papal supremacy abolished— prospects of the Reformation. 

Henry VIL, the first of the Tudor race of kings, 
came to the throne a. d. 1485, on the death of 
Richard III. in battle, and at the close of the 
disastrous and bloody war between the houses 
of York and Lancaster, known as the " war of 
the Roses." He was a cautious, politic and 
avaricious prince, and succeeded both in estab- 
lishing his government on a firm foundation, and 
in amassing great wealth, though not always by 
3 



34 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

justifiable means. Prince Arthur, the heir to the 
throne, was married to Katharine of Arragon, 
daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, on the 14th 
of November, 1501. He was at that time sixteen 
years old ; his bride was a little older. On the 
16th of the following April, Arthur died, an 
event which deranged all Henry's plans and had 
a marked effect — though wholly unexpected at 
the time — upon the cause of reform. 

It was quite contrary to the king's notion of 
things, to give up the immense dowry which 
Katharine brought with her to England, now 
that she had become a widow ; so he cast about 
how he might retain this vast wealth in his 
family. The pope, it will be recollected, was 
supreme at this time ; so his aid was sought to 
allow prince Henry to be betrothed to his bro- 
ther's widow, and when he came of sufficient 
age, to marry her. Accordingly this was done; 
and notwithstanding archbishop Warham had 
declared against the marriage as contrary to 
God's law, and Henry himself, when in his 
fourteenth year, protested against this connection 
— and his father on his death-bed warned him 
against the union with Katharine, still he, within 
six weeks of his accession to the throne, made 
her his bride. 



henry's early years. 35 

For this marriage, so plainly in opposition to 
the Christian law on this subject, as understood 
by the Church of England, # a dispensation or 
permission had to be obtained from the pope, 
who, in giving it, craftily thought he would 
obtain a hold on England which could not pos- 
sibly be shaken off, since on his dispensation 
depended entirely the legitimacy of the children 
of Henry and Katharine. We shall see, by-and- 
by, how this very circumstance aided in the ruin 
of papal power and influence. 

Henry VIII. was born a. d. 1495. He was 
very carefully educated, with reference to the 
taking orders in the Church, and manifested in 
early life superior abilities; he succeeded his 
father on the throne in 1509, much to the satis- 
faction of the people, who had become weary of 
the exactions of Henry Seventh's unscrupulous 
ministers, and promised themselves greater liberty 
under a youthful and generous king. As he was 
young and inexperienced, fond of ease and plea- 



* We say, " as understood by the Church of England," which 
expressly forbids a marriage with a brother's widow or husband's 
brother, since in the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United 
States, there is no law prohibiting such marriages. Indeed the 
laws on this subject in our country are of the loosest possible de- 
scription. 



36 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

sure, and had an overflowing treasury at his 
command, he soon fell into the snares of artful 
courtiers and ambitious statesmen ; and the vio- 
lent passions which he naturally possessed, ere 
long began to display themselves, and kept on 
increasing with age and indulgence, till they 
ended in outrageous and frequent acts of tyranny. 
Henry's prime minister, Wolsey, was an able, 
but ambitious man, and made it a rule to relieve 
the king of all the troubles of government, and 
facilitate in every way possible, his devotion to 
pleasure. But Henry was of too active a mind, 
and possessed of too much natural good sense, 
to grovel in pleasure all his daj^s. Being, by 
education, zealously attached to Romish dogmas, 
and also well read in school divinity, he looked 
with indignant aversion upon the daring conti- 
nental Reformer, Luther, and entered the lists 
against him as a champion for the truth. Luther 
attacked with all that severity and roughness 
which was characteristic of him, the works of 
Thomas Aquinas, called after the fashion of those 
days, " the Angelic Doctor." Henry, who 
greatly admired Aquinas's works, wrote in reply 
a Latin treatise upon .the " Seven Sacraments : " 
this was in 1521. The pope, well pleased to 
have so royal a champion, gave Henry the much 



GR0STETE AND WICKLIFFE. 37 

coveted title, of " Defender of the Faith;" a 
title, by the way, to which he and his successors 
on the throne have tenaciously adhered. 

The king was also a munificent patron of 
learning and learned men ; though it must be 
confessed, that cardinal Wolsey surpassed him 
in this respect, so much so, that his memory 
deserves to be cherished for this alone, if nothing 
else. He founded colleges, and employed his 
princely revenue in building up institutions of 
learning, which, it ought to be noted, at this 
time began to revive and flourish, and was one 
of the important means of furthering the cause of 
the Reformation. 

Before the period of which we are now writing, 
considerable had been done towards preparing 
the minds and hearts of the people for the great 
change in religious matters, which was about to 
take place. So early as a. d. 1235, Robert 
Grostete, bishop of Lincoln, openly opposed po- 
pish corruptions and extortions : he hindered pope 
Innocent III. from nominating an infant nephew 
to a canonry in his cathedral : he enforced disci- 
pline, reformed abuses, and denounced papal 
encroachments. In 1352, a remarkable work 
appeared, entitled the " Complaint of the Plough- 
man." The unknown author attacked with great 



38 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

severity some of the worst of the corruptions of 
Rome, as auricular confession, abuses of celibacy, 
wickedness of the popes, indolence of the clergy, 
&c. Richard Fitzralph, archbishop of Armagh, 
at the same date, preached earnestly against 
those pests, the mendicant friars. At this time, 
too, John WicklifFe arose, by whose learning, 
zeal, activity, and boldness, the cause of truth 
was much advanced, and men's eyes were in a 
measure opened to the enormity of papal abuses. 
To him belongs the glory of having first published 
the Bible in English.* His opinions on several 

* It must not be supposed that WicklifFe had the Bible printed; 
this was a later invention. He simply translated and circulated in 
manuscript as many copies or portions of Holy Writ as he could. 
The art of printing, which has had so great an effect upon the 
world, was discovered in 1440, and from its evident value, not long 
after came into general use, 

" By this great and good work (the translation of the Bible) the 
pleasure of the Most High prospered in Wickliffe's hand. An 
eager appetite for Scriptural knowledge was excited among the 
people, which they would make any sacrifice, and risk any danger 
to gratify. Entire copies of the Bible, when they could only be 
multiplied by means of amanuenses, were too costly to be within 
the reach of very many readers ; but those who could not procure 
1 the volume of the Book,' would give a load of hay for a few 
favorite chapters, and many such scraps were consumed upon the 
persons of the martyrs at the stake. They would hide the forbidden 
treasure under the floors of their houses, and put their lives in peril, 
rather than forego the book they desired ; they would sit up all 



GENERAL DISSATISFACTION. 39 

points were extravagant and manifestly errone- 
ous, but he deserves great credit for his daring 
to preach as he did at the peril of his life. His 
followers were called Lollards, though the origin 
of the name is not very clear. Many of them 
were martyrs to the truth which was afterwards 
established at the Reformation: we can now 
instance only Sir John Oldcastle, lord Cobham, 
who was burnt with circumstances of revolting 
cruelty at London, a. d. 1418, because he de- 
nied transubstantiation and other corrupt doctrines 
of the Roman Church. In fact, the sentiments 
of Wickliffe spread so widely and so rapidly, as 
to give great alarm to the prelates of the Church. 
His followers were bitterly persecuted, yet still 
they continued to increase, and to propagate the 
sentiments of hatred for priestly tyranny, sloth 
and luxury, and for the various pernicious doc- 
trines which were maintained by a large part of 
the Church. This hatred of long standing abuses 

night, their doors being shut for fear of surprise, reading or hearing 
others read the Word of God ; they would bury themselves in the 
woods, and there converse with it in solitude ; they would tend 
their herds in the fields, and still steal an hour for drinking in the 
good tidings of great joy : — thus was the angel come down to trouble 
the water, and there was only wanted some providential crisis to 
put the nation into it, that it might be made whole." — Blunt's 
Sketch of the Reformation in England, p. 101. 



40 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

was evidently increased likewise, by a circum- 
stance which occurred in the beginning of Henry's 
reign. In the year 1514, Hunne, a respectable 
citizen of London, was apprehended for resisting 
certain parish fees, and thrown into the bishop's 
prison, where he was found dead. The coroner's 
jury returned a verdict of wilful murder against 
Horsey, the bishop's chancellor, and although he 
was acquitted after trial, still a deep dislike was 
fostered against the priestly order by this un- 
toward event. 

It may be doubted, however, whether any or 
all the causes at this time at work, would have 
been sufficient to have led to speedy reformation 
in the Church, without some other powerful aid 
coming from without. The increase of learning, 
the printing and circulation of the New Testa- 
ment, the study of the Bible to some extent in 
the original, lectures on the Scriptures, preaching 
of sermons, spreading of tracts, and short trea- 
tises, the abhorrence of the tyranny and open 
corruption of life and manners among many of 
the clergy, the scandal of monasteries and nun- 
neries, the longing desire after something higher 
and holier than was offered in the popular re- 
ligion of the day ; — these, and similar things, 
were working powerfully in undermining the 



QUESTION OF THE DIVORCE. ' 41 

papal system, and preparing the people for a 
better stace in religion and morals- Yet, after 
all, had not the ungovernable passions and the 
unconquerable self-will of Henry VIII. been 
thwarted, and his desires been interfered with, it 
is probable that old abuses, and especially that 
most grievous one, the pope's supremacy, would 
have continued in force much longer. It is worth 

o 

while to trace out this matter somewhat more 
fully. 

The king and queen had now been living 
together nearly nineteen years ; they had had 
three sons and two daughters, all of whom, ex- 
cept Mary, had been removed by early deaths ; 
Katharine's dowry of immense wealth had been 
squandered away, and she herself, by ascetic 
devotion and increasing infirmities, had become 
unattractive to the capricious Henry ; the princess 
Mary's legitimacy had been questioned by the 
French ambassador, when her marriage with the 
duke of Orleans was in agitation ; and the young 
and beautiful Anne Boleyn had fallen in the 
king's way. It is difficult to say w T hat it was 
which rendered Henry alarmingly scrupulous as 
to the lawfulness of his marriage with his bro- 
ther's widow ; yet it is, after all, a matter of no 
great consequence ; the Reformation is not to be 
3* 



42 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

judged by the character or motives of some of 
the leading actors in it. The evil life of some 
of those engaged in promoting reformation, is no 
argument against its necessity and value, no 
more than the wickedness of some who bear the 
Christian name is an argument against the blessed 
Gospel, on which they bring disgrace. Whether 
honestly or not, Henry's scruples became so 
urgent that he determined to seek a divorce. 
He applied to pope Clement VII. for- that pur- 
pose, in 1527, but relief came not. The pope 
was very willing to gratify Henry, if he could do 
it safely; but if he granted the king's desire, he 
would thereby mortally offend the powerful em- 
peror of Germany, Charles V., who was the 
nephew of queen Katharine, and who had re- 
cently taken Rome, and thereby got Clement in 
his power. Thus he was in a complete dilemma ; 
he dared not decide either way ; for neither 
Henry nor Charles would bear to be trifled with, 
and either he knew would prove a formidable 
enemy. The matter continued in this vexatious 
state of indecision for six years, during which, 
under a show of carrying the case through for 
determination, the pope was only deceiving the 
king, meaning, if possible, never to pronounce 
any decision whatever, and hoping that some 



THOMAS CRANMER. 43 

casualty or other might free him from his per- 
plexity. 

Meanwhile, Henry, who never swerved from 
his determination when once he had made up 
his mind to a thing, was taking measures for 
breaking with the pope if need be. In November, 
1529, a parliament was called, in which Wolsey 
was impeached, and bills against various exac- 
tions on the part of the clergy, were passed. 
Shortly before, Thomas Cranmer — a name of 
great note in the history of these times — was un- 
expectedly brought to the notice of the king. 
He suggested a course which struck Henry's 
fancy as the very best which could be adopted. 
It was to the effect, that the king should collect 
the judgments of the principal universities and 
divines in Europe, and then decide the question 
by his own clergy. Accordingly, Cranmer was 
immediately taken into the king's service, and 
not long after, dispatched abroad on the business 
of the divorce. His success was very great. 
The general decision was in favor of the divorce, 
and against the power of the pope to give any 
dispensation in a matter which is contrary to 
God's Word. Notice of this was sent to the 
pope in the shape of a memorial, complaining of 
the outrageous delays in settling the question^ 



44 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

and significantly intimating, that unless more ex- 
pedition was used, the king would resort to other 
remedies. 

Henry soon proved that he was in earnest. 
He brought the whole body of the clergy under 
the statute of praemunire,* in 1531, for submitting 
to Wolsey's legatine authority, and compelled 
them not only to pay him an enormous amount of 
money for their release, but also to recognize him 
as " sole and supreme head of the Church, next 
and immediately after Christ." And, what was 
still more important — he determined to take the 
law into his own hands, and was privately mar- 
ried to Anne Boleyn, on St. Paul's day, January 
25th, 1532 ; thus, in fact, setting the pope's dis- 
pensation and opinion at defiance. 

The same year, Cranmer was ordered home 
by the king, who had determined to raise him to 
the archbishopric, now vacant by the death of 
Warham. This post was neither sought for nor 
desired by Cranmer : he opposed it in every 
way he possibly could : he declared that he was 
married, a serious obstacle ; then, that he could 
not take the usual oath to the pope, except under 
protest; also, that neither his habits nor his wishes 

* See Glossary of Terms, 



CRANMER ARCHBISHOP. 45 

were at all in unison with so high and so dan- 
gerous a position. But nothing would satisfy 
Henry except he was obeyed in this matter. 
So Cranmer reluctantly acceded to the king's 
wishes. But before his consecration, which took 
place, March 30th, 1533, he solemnly declared, 
" that he should only take the oath to the Roman 
see to comply with an established custom : that 
he would not be a party to any proceedings by 
which the law of God, or the prerogatives of the 
king or state of England would be affected ; and 
that he would adopt no measures except such as 
seemed advantageous to the reformation of the 
Church or state." With this explicit reservation, 
Cranmer entered upon the duties of his responsi- 
ble and burdensome office. 

On the 23d of May, the archbishop, with Car- 
diner, bishop of Winchester — a subtle, unscru- 
pulous and dangerous man, as he afterwards 
proved — as one of his assessors, formally pro- 
nounced sentence in the case of the king and 
Katharine : it was, that the marriage was void 
from the beginning, because contracted with a 
brother's widow. Hard measure this for the 
sorrowing wife and queen, the much suffering 
and deeply injured Katharine. Our sympathies 
cannot but be excited in her behalf, and she 



46 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

claims our respect and admiration for her sincere 
piety and consistency, and for the dignity and 
^propriety of her deportment during this most 
trying period of her life. 

Though matters had gone to this length — the 
divorce pronounced and Anne Boleyn publicly 
acknowledged as Henry's wife — still he hoped 
and, made efforts to keep on terms with the pope. 
From the disposition of Clement VIL, his unwill- 
ingness to lose the richest kingdom under his 
authority, and the active interference of Francis 
First of France, it is highly probable that in some 
way or other, the affair might have been com- 
promised and England still retained, had not a 
providential delay of Henry's messenger, sent 
with concessions on his part, induced the pope to 
affirm the legality of his marriage with Katharine, 
and to require him, under pain of ecclesiastical 
censures, to receive her again as his wife. This 
memorable decision was made in March, 1534, 
at the very time when great events were occur- 
ring in England.* 

* It may be remarked here, that the 23d of March, 1534, the 
day on which the sentence was pronounced at Rome, was also the 
very day on which the act for the succession to the crown was 
passed in England; and that the parliament which completed the 
great ecclesiastical revolution was prorogued before it was possible 
that intelligence should arrive from Rome. — Le Bas's Life of 
Cranmer, vol, i. p. 69. 



PAPAL SUPREMACY SUPPRESSED. 47 

Henry was, as might be expected, deeply en- 
raged at this fruitless result, and he now firmly 
resolved upon what he had all along been pre- 
paring for, viz., to cut loose entirely from Rome 
and to crush the papal supremacy in his kingdom. 
Accordingly parliament (which was always very 
subservient to the king's will) having passed laws 
suppressing the pope's supremacy, passed other 
acts, early in this same year, (1534,) which re- 
lieved the kingdom from the burdensome exac- 
tions of annates, bulls, appeals, dispensations, 
Peter's pence,* and various things of the kind, 
by w^hich the court of Rome derived annually 
from England an immense revenue. The Church, 
in convocation assembled, agreed very readily to 
these cheering proofs of better things to come ; 
for when the question was proposed to the bishops 
and clergy in the provincial synods of Canterbury 
and York, " whether the pope of Rome has, in 
the Word of God, any greater jurisdiction in the 
realm of England than any other foreign bishop ? " 
it was decided, with great unanimity, that he had 
not. The universities concurred in this judgment. 
The various chapters, convents of regulars, men- 
dicants, &c, throughout the kingdom, also de- 

* See Glossary of Terms. 



48 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

clared their assent, and only one bishop — Fisher 
of Rochester — refused to unite in this decision 
whereby the papal supremacy in England was 
regularly and validly suppressed. 

At this point we shall ask our readers to pause 
awhile, and reflect upon what had been actually 
done towards bringing the Church of England 
out of papal bondage into the glorious liberty of 
the Gospel of Christ. The pope, as we have 
seen, like many an other cunning man, had over- 
reached himself, and by his contemptible trickery 
and delays, had driven Henry into a step which 
destroyed the first and grand article of papal 
power, viz., the supremacy. This was the start- 
ing point ; this was the entering w^edge ; without 
this all other efforts would have been compara- 
tively powerless. So long as the pope was ac- 
knowledged supreme head of the Church in the 
realm of England, just so long was it impossible 
to do any thing really effective in the way of 
reform. 

Besides this, several other things deserve to be 
noted. The archbishopric of Canterbury was 
filled by a man of great learning, zeal and dili- 
gence, and possessed of the lasting confidence 
and affections of Henry. Cranmer, the great 
promoter of the Reformation, was no ordinary 



cranmer's life and services. 49 

man ; and we doubt if there was any in England 
who could have filled that see with so much real 
benefit to the Church and to the cause of pure 
religion. Born of a good family in 1489, he early 
became distinguished for those qualities which 
shone out so conspicuously in after years : his 
reputation for scholarship was very high at the 
university of Cambridge, where he was succes- 
sively a fellow, lecturer, and university examiner 
of candidates for theological degrees. His life 
and services, which unhappily it has become 
somewhat fashionable of late years to undervalue, 
require deep and careful study rightly to see 
and feel their importance and value. It should 
be remembered, too, that the new queen was 
of a family earnestly and sincerely attached to 
the Reformation, and she herself was a warm 
friend to those who had in view the purity and 
prosperity of the Church, and did all in her 
power to further the cause of truth and piety. 
Moreover, some of the bishops, with Cranmer at 
their head, were diligently engaged in endeavor- 
ing to procure a new translation of the Bible ; 
and numerous publications were issued tending 
to open the eyes of the people and set them to 
thinking, a thing to which, for a long time, they 
had been but little accustomed. 



50 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

In these respects the prospect seemed favorable 
for carrying on to a successful completion the 
great work of reforming, that is, restoring to 
primitive purity and soundness, the corrupt and 
suffering Church of England. At the same time, 
it must be confessed, that the way before the 
Reformers was dark and uncertain, and no one 
knew how soon he might have to seal his testi- 
mony with his blood. Henry was a tyrant, a 
capricious, selfish, unfeeling tyrant, and therefore 
not at all to be depended on. He does not seem 
ever to have entered heartily into the views of 
those who, like Cranmer, desired to restore 
primitive purity and godliness. He was as tena- 
cious of his own supremacy as ever the pope 
could have been respecting that of the successor 
of St. Peter ; and he was as ready to burn those 
whod oubted or denied this point, as if it had 
been a matter of faith essential to salvation.* 

* In one sense it might even be fairly said, that Henry was a 
more ardent papist than before (the pope's supremacy was ruined 
in England ;) the supreme pontificate being now transferred to his 
own hand. It was almost natural that he should look with more 
complacency than ever upon the sacred deposite of doctrine and 
tradition, now that he had been enabled to usurp the care of it. 
There remained no one personal interest to shake his allegiance to 
the Romish religion, considered merely as a scheme of belief. The 
possessions of the hierarchy, indeed, were still left to tempt his 



PROSPECTS OF THE REFORMERS. 51 

The great mass of the clergy, too, were wedded 
to the old superstitions and abuses, and with 
very few exceptions, the archbishop had none on 
whom he could certainly rely. Ignorance the 
most deplorable, nay, almost incredible, prevailed 
not only among the common people, but also 
among their spiritual guides and directors. Li- 
centious discussion was every where carried on ; 
men's minds were in a ferment ; restlessness, 
uncertainty, doubt, wonder, unbelief, all had 
their place, and were leavening the community 
with the powerful and discordant elements of 
strife and disunion ; and men were fast being 
prepared for any extravagance of fanatical wick- 
edness and fierceness. 

For these, and similar reasons, the prospect to 
the Reformers was far from being bright and 
cheering, and had it depended on their might or 
their wisdom, the suffering Church of England 

rapacity ; but the work of spoliation might be effected with scarcely 
the sacrifice of a single dogma. And accordingly, in all essential 
respects, Henry continued to his dying day, nearly as rigid a Ro- 
manist as when he first earned his title of Defender of the Faith : and 
the only wonder is, that with such a pope at the head of the Church, 
Cranmer should have been able during his reign, to advance a 
single step towards that more effective reformation which he after- 
wards so happily accomplished. — Le Bas's Life of Cranmer, vol. i. 
p. 80. 



52 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

would probably never have been released from 
the thraldom of popery. But it was not by an 
arm of flesh that our fathers were delivered. 
God was in the midst of His Church ; He blessed 
the study of His pure Word ; He stirred up the 
hearts of His servants to labor diligently in the 
great work set before them ; He taught them not 
to count their lives dear unto themselves in the 
cause of Christ ; His Holy Spirit's influence 
rested upon their efforts ; He put a hook into the 
nose of that leviathan — the tyrant Henry VIII. — 
and made that he was faithful to Cranmer, the 
great, good, and humble minded, when he was 
faithful to no one else. 

Even so it was ; and as we look back upon the 
events of a few years — most important in their 
effects — we may well render thanks to Almighty 
God and recognize His over-ruling providence in 
human affairs. What so unlikely as that the 
king, a bigotted papist — retaining his partiality 
to the tenets and dogmas of Rome even to his 
death — and a writer in its defence, should be the 
principal agent in causing its ruin in England ? 
What more singular than that the pope, cool, 
cautious, calculating, and unusually wary not to 
proceed to extremities, should have been strangely 
intemperate and hot, all of a sudden ; and by 



PROVIDENTIAL GUIDANCE. 53 

refusing to wait for a messenger hourly expected, 
should have forever closed the door of reconcilia- 
tion between Henry and himself? Who can 
observe all this and not acknowledge the short 
sighted policy of earthly designs and prospects : 
and who can fail to thank that Almighty Power 
who setteth at naught the wisdom and prudence 
of man, and governeth the world according to 
those laws which most surely promote the in- 
terests of His creatures ! 



CHAPTER II. 



a. d. 1534—1539. 

The king's supremacy — Fisher and More refuse the oath — are ex- 
ecuted — Visitation of the monasteries— Cromwell — his life and 
character — reasons requiring the visitation — motives of the king 
and court — motives of the Reformers — results of the visitation — 
state of the convents — dissolution of the smaller ones — death of 
queen Anne Boleyn— wickedness of the act — Jane Seymour — 
articles of doctrine and practice — royal proclamation — effect of 
breaking up the monasteries — insurrections — pilgrimage of grace 
— new visitation ordered — report of the visitors— imposture and 
deceit in the religious houses — exceptions — dissolution of the 
monasteries absolutely necessary — shameful perversion of their 
wealth and wasteful wickedness of the king — good flowing from 
evil. 

The pope's supremacy, as we have seen, was 
abolished in England by the acts of parliament, 
in 1534 : the immediate consequence of this im- 
portant step was, the requiring an oath to be 
taken to the king as supreme in the Church as 



FISHER AND MORE. 55 

well as state, and settling the succession of the 
crown on the children, if any, of Henry and 
Anne, under penalties of the most extreme se- 
verity. The major part of the nation, both 
clergy and laity, very readily agreed to this 
change of allegiance, for which indeed they had 
become prepared by the previous acts of the 
king and parliament. There was not, however, 
a universal assent to the act of succession. Many 
of the friars, denying the royal supremacy, 
were put to death. Fisher, the aged bishop of 
Rochester, and Sir Thomas More, lord chancellor 
of England, were willing to swear fidelity to the 
succession to the throne as appointed by law ; 
but they refused to commit themselves to the 
statements of the preamble to the act which 
involved an affirmation of the nullity of the 
marriage with Katharine, and the validity of 
that with Anne Boleyn. It was urged by Cran- 
mer, that their conscientious scruples on this 
point should be gratified, especially as they 
agreed to every thing that was essential, viz., 
the supreme authority of the king over all his 
subjects ; and still more, as they were men of 
note and great weight in the community. But 
Henry's obstinate adherence to his own will was 
shockingly manifested ; nothing would satisfy 



56 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

him except unconditional obedience, and this 
being refused, he sent them both to the tower 
to try if imprisonment and hardships would not 
break down their opposition. Neither Fisher 
nor More yielded ; so that the king, who never 
let any obstacle hinder him when his mind was 
set upon an object, in the course of the next year 
had them tried, convicted and executed upon 
the scaffold.* This outrageous proceeding will 
always remain a foul blot upon the character of 
the king, who dared thus to commit acts of 
legalized murder. 

The next step of importance, was the appoint- 
ment of a commission for a general visitation of 
the monasteries and other religious houses, and 
an inquiry into their state and condition, with 
the intention, no doubt, of breaking up a large 
number of them. At the head of this commission, 
was placed a layman, who filled a large space 
in these eventful times, who exercised very con- 
siderable influence in furthering the Reformation, 
and whose rise and fall are alike remarkable 



* The execution of these eminent men, the one nearly fourscore, 
venerable also for his erudition and his virtues, — the other, the most 
distinguished ornament of his age and country, was regarded 
throughout Christendom with wonder and detestation. — Southey's 
Book of the Church, chap. xii. 



cromwell's life and character. 57 

and impressive. Thomas Cromwell was of hum- 
ble origin, and brought up in the house of Wol- 
sey, whom he served with faithfulness, zeal and 
ability, even to the hour of that great man's fall. 
His talents recommended him to the king, with 
whom he so ingratiated himself that he rose 
rapidly, and though his ambition was time-ser- 
ving, and desire of office and power his ruling 
motive, still we cannot doubt that his convictions 
were decidedly in favor of the Reformation, and 
his efforts sincerely bent towards setting it for- 
ward. He was created vicar-general for the 
visitation of the monasteries and settling of eccle- 
siastical affairs, and subsequently he became 
lord vicegerent, an office which gave him all the 
power previously enjoyed by the pope in the 
English Church, and which was certainly a 
dangerous infringement of the powers and pre- 
rogatives of the bishops. Cromwell afterwards 
rose to the earldom of Essex, but by one false 
step he lost the favor of the king, and in 1540, 
perished on the scaffold, a striking monument 
of the instability of human greatness. 

The commission was extremely active, and, 
as might be supposed, very successful in accom- 
plishing an end equally desired — though for very 
different reasons — by the king and a hungry 
4 



58 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 






crowd of rapacious courtiers, and by the devoted 
archbishop and the true friends of religion and 
learning. The monasteries were the grand bul- 
warks of popery in England, and so long as they 
existed it would have been next to impossible 
to have effected reform in the Church. The 
hold they had upon the people, the superstitious 
reverence which was paid to relics and shrines, 
the great numbers of religious houses which 
were spread all over the kingdom, rendered 
these establishments engines of immense power 
in thwarting the designs of the Reformers, and 
in upholding the ancient superstitions. It was 
mainly on this account that Cranmer and his 
fellow laborers desired their suppression, in 
order that the minds of the people might be dis- 
abused, and the wealth which had been bestowed 
upon the monasteries, for the purpose of promo- 
ting truth and piety, might be employed in fur- 
nishing — what was so much needed at that time 
— a body of learned, godly and active clergy. 
The king, however, in his profligate extrava- 
gance, seems to have cast a longing eye upon 
the great wealth of the monastic houses, rather 
for the purpose of gratifying his passions than 
with any positive good intent ; and his favorites, 
and the creatures about his court and person. 



STATE OF THE MONASTERIES. 59 

were as eager as ravenous dogs for the spoil in 
which they expected largely to share. 

Henry may have had some better motives in 
view in what he purposed : it is asserted by 
writers of eminence that he had, that he meant 
to expend the money in founding bishoprics, 
and constructing harbors for the growing com- 
merce of England : we are not disposed to deny 
what was probably true, that he had some vague 
notion of appropriating the great wealth of the 
monasteries to some object of public advantage, 
and we are assured, that a plan had been drawn 
up for the increase of Episcopal supervision. 
However this may be, the king urged on the 
commissioners to make speedy work. 

They did so : they found in some, nay many, 
the prevalence of the most infamous lewdness 
and debauchery ; some were sunk in sloth and 
luxury ; some were devoted to the merest animal 
life or childish absurdities ; while to others, 
though a lamentably small proportion of the 
whole, was rendered the just praise of being 
occupied in deeds of piety and learning. The 
commissioners made thorough work of what 
they did, for they knew the master whom they 
served ; and even allowing that they exagge- 
rated some things, that they were determined to 



60 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

find evil, whether it existed to any great extent 
or not — as popish writers assert — it must never- 
theless be allowed, that it was high time that 
something in the way of reform should be brought 
to bear upon these houses of superstition, fraud 
and imposture. 

On the report of the commissioners, parlia- 
ment, early in 1536, passed an act dissolving all 
the monasteries of which the annual income was 
under <£200 (or nearly $1000.) By this sweep- 
ing blow no less than three hundred and seventy- 
five religious houses were broken up, and pro- 
perty to the amount of $150,000 or more per 
annum, together with a large sum (about $50,000) 
arising from plate and jewels, passed from the 
hands of the monks into those of the king and 
his court. It is mournful to reflect that it was 
all quickly dissipated and spent in a way which 
could not profit either soul or body ; and it is 
sad and fearful to think of the vast mass of 
ignorance, want and disaffection, which was thus 
suddenly thrown loose upon societ}^.* It will 

* The effect of this terrible measure may be in some degree 
estimated by considering the fact, that during Henry's reign, no 
less than 72,000 persons are said to have perished by the hand of 
the executioner, some rendered desperate in consequence of want, 
and others made bold by the lawless license of the times. 



ANNE BOLEYN'S DEATH. 61 

be seen, subsequently, what sore evils grew out 
of this hasty proceeding. 

A most lamentable event occurred this year, 
which tended much to dishearten the friends 
and supporters of the Reformation. It was the 
cruel and most unrighteous condemnation of 
queen Anne Boleyn. Being of a lively and 
cheerful disposition, tending almost to frivolity, 
at times, and remarkable for openness and free- 
dom of manners, she frequently gave occasion 
for evil tongues to censure, and evil hearts to 
pervert her words and actions. Henry seems, 
from some ca,use or other, to have cooled in his 
love for her, and to have become jealous and 
suspicious, a state of mind which was inflamed 
by the haters of the queen and the cause of the 
Reformation, to which she was well known to 
be a firm and uniform friend. Accordingly, on 
the most unfounded and contradictory charges, 
she was committed to the tower, being deserted 
by all her former friends except Cranmer, who, 
to his own great risk, made strenuous efforts to 
soften the wrath and jealousy of the capricious 
tyrant, but in vain. She was tried and con- 
demned in secret by the mere tools of the king, 
and was beheaded, May 19th, 1536. Perhaps 
the strongest proof of her innocence of any crime 



62 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

but that of hptving lost Henry's affection, is in 
the fact that the very day after her execution, 
the king, with disgusting haste and to the out- 
rage of all decency, married Lady- Jane Sey- 
mour, a maid of honor to the murdered queen, 
and renowned for youth and beauty.* 

The destruction of Queen Anne, however, did 
not prove of so much advantage to the papists 
as was hoped : for the Reformation kept its on- 
ward course. The convocation having consi- 
dered very fully certain articles of doctrine and 
practice which were submitted to them by the 
king, agreed upon several points, which were 
accordingly published by the royal authority. 
They are well worth our notice and examination, 
since they form the earliest document relating 
to the faith, issued by the Church of England 
since the beginning of the Reformation. Their 
general outline is as follows : — 

The Bible and the three Creeds are laid down 
as the basis of our faith. Baptism is declared to 

* The thorough hardness of Henry's heart was shown, when he 
declared his marriage with Anne Boleyn void, beheaded her upon 
a false and monstrous charge of adultery and incest, and married 
Jane Seymour the next day. This change produced no alteration 
in religious affairs, for the new queen was of a family which favored 
the Reformation, and shared largely in the plunder distributed 
under that name. — JSouthey's Book of the Church, chap. xii. 



ARTICLES OF FAITH. 63 

be absolutely necessary, so that children dying 
unbaptized cannot be saved. 

Penance, that is, repentance, is a sacrament, 
and necessary. 

Confession to a priest is necessary and effectual. 

The corporal presence, that is, transubstantia- 
tion, is necessary to be believed. 

Though justification depends on the merits of 
Christ, yet good works are necessary in order 
to obtain eternal life. 

With regard to ceremonies, it was ordered, 
that images should be retained as examples to 
the people, but idolatry and the abuse of them, 
was to be guarded against. Saints were to be 
honored as examples of holy life and the helpers 
of our prayers ; with this view they were to be 
called on, but not worshipped. Many ceremo- 
nies, as the use of holy water, ashes, palms, &c. 
were to be retained as typical signs ; and prayers 
for the dead were enjoined, though the existence 
of purgatory is doubted. It may also be noted, 
that no mention is made of the other four sacra- 
ments, though the use of them is inculcated in 
several of the doctrinal works which were sub- 
sequently published during this reign.* 

* Bishop Short's History of the Church of England, chap. v. 
§206. 



64 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

Immediately after the publication of these 
articles, Cromwell, the lord vicegerent, by order 
of the king, issued a proclamation, giving various 
directions to the clergy, the most important of 
which were these ; — the laws against the pope's 
supremacy, and the authority of the king in the 
Church, were to be faithfully set forth : super- 
stition was to be discountenanced, and the peo- 
ple taught to obey God's commandments, as 
more acceptable to Him than pilgrimages and 
worshipping of relics : Bibles, in Latin and 
English, were to be set up in the churches, and 
the people encouraged to read them :* children 

* It is, perhaps, scarcely possible for us to imagine the eagerness 
with which the people availed themselves of the liberty thus offered 
them, by the repeated declarations of the king, to consult the Sacred 
Volume for themselves. The impatience they manifested may, in 
part, be ascribed to mere curiosity. Men were naturally anxious 
to examine the writings which had been for ages so jealously locked 
up from their inspection. Nothing, however, but a higher motive, 
can account for the universal rush to the fountain of living waters, 
the moment it was unsealed. Every one that could, purchased the 
book : and if he was unable to read it himself, he got his neighbor 
to read it to him. Numbers might be seen flocking to the lower 
end of the church and forming a little congregation round the 
Scripture reader. Many persons, far advanced in life, actually 
learned to read, for the express purpose of searching the oracles of 
God : and one instance has been recorded of a poor boy, only fifteen 
years of age, who voluntarily incurred the same toil, and then joined 
his stock with a brother apprentice for the purchase of a Testament, 



ROYAL PROCLAMATION. 65 

were to be brought up honestly and religiously, 
being taught the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and 
the Ten Commandments, in the mother tongue : 
and restrictions were imposed upon non-resi- 
dents, who were required to devote a portion 
of their income to charitable purposes, and also 
were to supply proper curates. The sound 
sense and practical wisdom of these directions 
are evident, without remark, and none, we think, 
can fail to see that, though not wholly satisfac- 
tory to either party, their tone is clearly in 
favor of reform. 

During the summer of this year, (1536,) con- 
siderable progress was made in the dissolution 
of the monasteries. Many of the larger ones 
were voluntarily surrendered, to be dealt with 
as the king or the commissioners might direct, 
it being very certain that ultimately they would 
share the same fate with those included in the 
bill recently passed. There was an evil, how- 
ever, connected with the breaking up of the 
monastic establishments, which soon led to seri- 

which he concealed under the bed-straw, and perused at stolen 
moments, undismayed by the reproaches of his mother and the 
brutal violence of his father. — Le Bas's Life of Cranmer, vol. i. p. 
142. 

4* 



66 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

ous and even alarming results. Large numbers 
of persons, by the dissolution of tfiese houses, 
were thrown suddenly upon the world, unpro- 
vided for, unemplo3^ed, and exposed to hard- 
ships of no ordinary kind. Many of these, as 
was natural, induced by passion, and frequently 
urged on by necessity, sought to excite commo- 
tions among the people against the government. 
A formidable rising took place in the north of 
England, which, in consequence of the standards 
having on them representations of the five wounds 
of Christ and of the cross, was termed the Pil- 
grimage of Grace. It was discovered that the 
abbeys and monasteries, yet existing, had been 
very active, in an underhand way, in this serious 
disturbance, had supplied means to the insur- 
gents, had stirred up the minds of the people, 
had fomented discord, and had striven as far as 
possible, to drive the disaffected into acts of 
positive and open rebellion. Hence it became 
manifest, that so long as these strong-holds of 
popery existed, it would be impossible to expect 
reformation in religion or quiet in the state. 
Accordingly, for this reason, combined with the 
others which have been mentioned as influencing 
the king and court in the case of the smaller 



CORRUPTIONS AND IMPOSTURE. 67 

monasteries, a new visitation was ordered, pre- 
paratory to a complete dissolution of all the re- 
ligious houses in England. 

The visitors entered upon their work and pro- 
secuted it with zeal and diligence, and it may be 
that occasionally they displayed too great severity 
and harshness ; but having been charged with re- 
ceiving bribes,* they, in retaliation, laid open to 
public gaze the corruptions and abominations 
which their visit had brought to light. A most sad 
and pitiable catalogue it was indeed ! imposture 
the most gross, profligacy the most disgusting, ly- 
ing relics of the most preposterous description, 
were discovered ; such as the Virgin Mary's gir- 
dle, exhibited by eleven distinct monasteries ; the 
ear of Malchus, cut off by St. Peter ; the teeth of 
St. Apollonia, (infallible cures for tooth-ache,) 
enough in number, when collected, to fill a tun ; 
some of the coals which had once blazed under the 
gridiron of St. Lawrence ; the spear-head which 
had pierced our Saviour's side, brought over from 
Palestine by an angel of one wing ; some of the 
Saviour's blood preserved in a phial, which to the 
faithful appeared of a bright red hue, but to all 



* Bp. Short, (Hist. c. v. §2.11,) thinks that there Is good ground 
for this charge. 



68 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

others only dark and cheerless ; the old boots and 
tattered shirt of that factious demagogue, Thomas 
a Becket, and many similar absurd and despica- 
ble odds-and-ends of imposture and deceit. One 
of these villainous devices to rob and cheat the 
people of their money, and delude their souls to 
destruction, was laid open at St. Paul's Cross, in 
London, by order of Cromwell ; it was termed 
the Rood of Grace, and was meant as an image of 
our Saviour. It would hang its lip when silver 
was offered to it, and shake its beard merrily when 
the offering was of gold, much to the astonish- 
ment of the simple populace. When taken to 
pieces, the wires and secret springs by which its 
eyes and lips were moved, showed to what length 
of lying deception on the one hand, and of credu- 
lity on the other, men went at that period, as well 
as with what shameless audacity the monks and 
clergy of the popish party endeavored to maintain 
their power over the people. 

Happily we are enabled to say, that all the mo- 
nastic establishments and religious houses were 
not hopelessly sunk in corruption, or engaged in 
despicable intrigue or deceit ; no, it would be 
equally unjust and ungenerous not to give the due 
meed of praise to some, if not many of the con- 
vents, where real devotion and sound moralitv 



MONASTERIES WHY DISSOLVED. 69 

were found to exist ; where liberal hospitality and 
munificent acts of charity marked the course of 
the members, and won for them the love, respect 
and confidence of the community, but more es- 
pecially of the common people, 

There can be no reasonable doubt that the 
destruction of the monasteries was essential to 
the progress of the Reformation ; it was felt to 
be almost hopeless to expect to spread the truth 
to any extent, while so many emissaries of the 
pope stood ready to destroy the good which 
might be wrought, and to pluck up the seeds of 
truth which might be sown in the hearts of the 
people; and while the strong-holds of supersti- 
tion and fraud existed in all their power and 
influence throughout the country. Their fall 
was, therefore, necessary, and in great measure 
just. Most of them had shamefully perverted 
the wealth left for pious and charitable purposes 
to mere self-indulgence and scandalous lusts and 
passions. Yet we mean not to justify some of 
the steps which were taken, far less to approve 
of the motives of a rapacious king and court. 
Henry coveted the wealth of the monasteries, 
and being absolute, he determined to have it. 
Though in point of right he had no claim what- 
ever to the property left by pious individuals 



REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

for the sake of charity to men's souls and bodies, 
still, he longed to grasp it. He was willing to 
compromise in some respects with his conscience, 
in this meditated wholesale robbery, by employ- 
ing a part — a very small part as it turned out — 
in founding bishoprics and institutions of public 
benefit. The greedy courtiers at his side urged 
him on, well knowing that they should be sharers 
*n the spoils ; and a subservient and pliant par- 
liament passed acts which put into the king's 
hands the immense resources of the abbeys and 
convents. Had Henry, as in duty bound, de- 
voted this great wealth to the use, or to a similar 
use with that intended by the donors, he would 
have deserved the grateful thanks of all lovers 
of truth and learning ; but so far from this he 
squandered it in his own sensual pleasures and 
on his eager dependants ; he broke up the houses 
which had been time-honored as the home of the 
weary and way-faring man, the supporters of 
the orphan and the friendless, the benefactors of 
the poor, the depositories of knowledge ;* he 

* They had been the alms-houses, where the aged dependants 
of more opulent families, the decrepid servant or decayed artificer 
retired as to a home neither uncomfortable nor humiliating ; they 
had been county infirmaries and dispensaries ; they had been found- 
ling asylums, relieving the state of many orphan and outcast chil- 



GOOD AND EVIL OF MONASTERIES. 71 

scattered in every direction thousands of helpless 
persons, pensioned, it is true, but most inade- 
quately, and unfitted for the ordinary pursuits of 
life ; he sent abroad over the country multitudes 
of persons who, driven on by want, or by brood- 
ing over their hard lot, were ready to engage in 
any plans, however wrong, to avenge themselves 
on the government ; he changed the for the most 
part easy landlord which the monks proved to 
be, for a frequently hard and griping master, 
who, scarcely visiting his ill-gotten lands, cared 
not for the tenants' woe or weal. He refused to 
listen to the earnest entreaty of the Reformers, 
who desired that some of the abbeys might be 
converted into institutions of learning, or, as good 
Hugh Latimer prayed, might be turned into 
houses for " preaching, study and prayer : " and 
though, by the dissolution of a thousand or more 
convents, large and small, he became possessed 
of wealth to the amount of nearly a million dollars 
per annum, he contented himself, and put off 
the supplications of Cranmer and his colleagues 
by expending only about one-twentieth of that 

dren, and ministering to their necessities ; they had been inns for 
the way-faring man ; they filled up the gap in which the public 
libraries have since stood, &c. — See Blunt's Sketch of the Refor- 
mation in England, p. 142. 



72 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

vast income in the foundation of five bishoprics, 
several chapters, and two colleges, one at Oxford 
and one at Cambridge.* 

While, therefore, we regret deeply the per- 
version of the wealth of the dissolved monas- 
teries to mere temporal uses, we cannot but 
acknowledge that the Reformation, by this bold 
step of Henry's, acquired a strength and activity 
which, under God, was sure to eventuate in the 
best results ; and though we are far enough from 
approving of the motives of the king and court 
in what they did, still we feel that in this, as in 
most cases, God, in His mercy, brings good out 
of evil. 

* Henry, with all the wealth which passed through his hands, 
was so improvident that, before the^end of his reign, he had recourse 
to that dishonest and most impolitic measure of debasing his coin. — ■ 
Bishop Short, (Hist c. v. § 249.) 



CHAPTER III, 



a. d. 1539—1547. 

State of things at this date — popish schemes — martyrs — John 
Lambert — proclamation against marriage of priests — act of Six 
Articles — -abstract of them — Latimer and Shaxton resign their 
bishoprics — effect of the articles — birth of Edward — death of 
the Queen — Henry's marriage to Anne of Cleves — disgraceful 
termination of the match — Cromwell's fall — Romish ascendancy 
— Cranmer's Bible — Gardiner's scheme to nullify the English 
version — new Queen — Anne Askew — her martyrdom — difficul- 
ties and trials of the Reformers — Litany in English — King's 
Primer — close of Henry's reign- — evils of the Reformation— en- 
couragements in prospect — advances made — Henry's death and 
character — reflections on God's providence. 

Thus far, it is manifest that the Reformation was, 
on the whole, advancing steadily and surely. 
The Scriptures had been published by authority, 
the monasteries had been dissolved, and the va- 
rious corruptions and superstitions which they 



74 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

fostered and kept alive, had been laid open to 
public gaze, and the people, as they read and 
heard, began to think and to feel, in measure at 
least, and began to know somewhat of their spiri- 
tual wants and of the Fountain of living waters 
from which they might freely draw for their soul's 
comfort and refreshment. The popish party, 
however, with Gardiner, the unprincipled bishop 
of Winchester, at their head, by flattering the 
king's vanity and paying court to him very assidu- 
ously, managed to check for a time the onward 
progress of reform. They did not dare to oppose 
him openly and honestly, for that would be certain 
death, but complying with every thing that he set 
his mind on, whether they liked it or not, they 
managed to keep in his good graces, and had op- 
portunity to suggest measures which would bear 
hard on the Reformers and the truths which they 
preached. The consequence of this was, that 
Henry thinking himself called on to maintain his 
supremacy in Church as well as state, did several 
things which deeply grieved Cranmer and his as- 
sociates in the good cause, and made the papists 
exult in the success of their schemes. 

The first step was to light up the fire of perse- 
cution. Some years before, several martyrs had 
suffered for denial of popish errors, especially that 



MARTYRS JOHN LAMBERT. 75 

one which caused more deaths than any other, 
viz., transubstantiation. Bilney, a clergyman of 
Cambridge, Byfield, a monk, Tewksbury, a citi- 
zen of London, and others were burnt as relapsed 
heretics. Bainham, a lawyer, Harding, Hewett, 
a young tailor, and Frith, a young man of note for 
le arning and piety, were burnt for denying the 
i corporal presence," or transubstantiation. And 
now, in 1538, another was added to the list. John 
Lambert, who had been chaplain to the English 
company at Antwerp, and intimate with Tyndale, 
the translator and printer of the New Testament, 
was arrested, brought before the king, whom Gar- 
diner stirred up to cruelty, and after being inhu- 
manly insulted and abused by the royal disputant, 
was delivered over to be burnt at Smithfield, his 
last words being " none but Christ, none but 
Christ." As Henry had zealously maintained 
transubstantiation in his book against Luther, he 
seems to have felt it incumbent on him to burn and 
destroy all who doubted or denied this dogma ; 
and accordingly we find that as in this so in other 
cases, he scrupled not to pursue to the extreme all 
who had the courage to differ from the religion 
adopted by the king. 

The next thing which showed the influence of 
the haters of the Reformation, was the issuing of 



76 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

a proclamation which reprobated the marriage of 
priests, and prohibited those who dared to marry 
from performing any sacred office, under pain of 
losing all their ecclesiastical privileges. 

The triumph of the papal party, however, was 
evident in what took place in the parliament of 
this year, April, 1539, when the famous act of the 
Six Articles, as it is called, was passed and be- 
came a law, despite the vigorous and eloquent op- 
position of Cranmer. These articles were pro- 
posed by the duke of Norfolk, the great patron of 
papal opinions, and were to the following effect: — 

1st, That in the sacrament of the altar, after 
the consecration, there remaineth no substance of 
bread and wine, but under these forms the natural 
body and blood of Christ are present. 

2nd, That communion, in both kinds, is not ne- 
cessary to salvation to all persons, by the law of 
God ; but that both the flesh and blood of Christ 
are together in each of the kinds. 

3rd, That priests, after the order of priesthood, 
may not marry by the law of God. 

4th, That vows of chastity ought to be ob- 
served, by the law of God. 

5th, That the use of private masses ought to 
be continued, which, as it is agreeable to God's 
law, so men receive great benefit thereby. 



SIX ARTICLES. 77 

Oth, That auricular confession is expedient and 
necessary, and ought to be retained in the Church. 

The penalties by which these Articles were 
enforced were extremely cruel and harsh. Burn- 
ing at the stake, imprisonment for life, loss of 
goods and chattels, &c, were the punishments for 
speaking against, or opposing in any way, the te- 
nets set forth in the Articles ; and so rejoiced were 
the opponents of reform that they went to work 
at once, and soon brought great numbers to answer 
for their violations of the law now in force. 

Good old Hugh Latimer, bishop of Worcester, 
and Shaxton, bishop of Salisbury, whose con- 
sciences would notlet them subscribe to what they 
were convinced was error and superstition, imme- 
diately resigned their bishoprics, and soon after 
were thrown into prison for imprudently speaking 
against the Six Articles. Latimer remained there 
till Henry's death. Cranmer, who entertained 
sentiments almost extravagantly high, respecting 
the power of the king in matters of religion, re- 
tained his post, though he had earnestly and at the 
risk of his life contended against the new law. 
IHe was obliged also to send away privately his 
wife, whom he had married in Germany, pre- 
viously to his elevation to the see of Canterbury, 
in order that she might remain in her native 



78 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

country, out of harm's way, so long as this cruelly 
severe act continued in force. In general, how- 
ever, owing to the powerful influence of Crom- 
well in favor of the Reformers, and the difficul- 
ties in the way of enforcing the penalties to any 
great extent, the act of the Six Articles did not 
fall so heavily as might have been expected upon 
the cause of truth and virtue. 

Queen Jane Seymour died in giving birth to 
Edward, afterwards Edward VI., in October, 
1537. She was deeply lamented by Henry, as 
much so as any one could be by such a man, and 
for some time he seemed to have been sobered by 
her loss. But he soon tired of a solitary life and 
resolved again to marry. Accordingly, on repre- 
sentations of the beauty and charms of a foreign 
princess, he made proposals which were accepted, 
and in January, 1540, he was married to Anne 
of Cleves, the sister of a distinguished Protestant 
leader on the continent. As this match proved 
extremely distasteful to the king, he was not a lit- 
tle angry at Cromwell who had been the principal 
agent in bringing it about, and he determined, 
with that recklessness which marked his whole 
course as far as obligations were concerned, to 
annul the marriage. This was soon after done, 
through the pitiable subserviency of the parlia- 



INDISCRIMINATE CRUELTY. 79 

ment and the convocation, and Anne was pen- 
sioned off on ,£3,000 ($15,000,) a-year, appa- 
rently to her entire satisfaction ; while on Crom- 
well fell the weight of Henry's wrath and vin- 
dictiveness. He was sent to the Tower, hated 
by the nobility as an upstart, was deserted by all 
his friends except Cranmer — who never forsook a 
friend in need — and beheaded, July, 28th, 1540. 

The death of this great man and able minister, 
was a serious blow to the cause of the Reforma- 
tion, for he had ever been its constant supporter 
and friend, and had aided materially in advan- 
cing its interests. His unrighteous condemnation 
was not the least disgraceful and odious among 
the criminal acts of Henry's reign. 

The following month, August 8th, the king 
was married to Catharine Howard, niece of the 
duke of Norfolk, the head of the papal party in 
England ; an event which strengthened the hands 
of the opponents of reformation and enabled them 
to use the capricious monarch's present anger to 
the injury of the cause of truth. The spirit of 
persecution was let loose, and numerous martyrs 
bore testimony at the stake for the faith of the 
Gospel ; yet, strange to say, the king's cruelty 
was as indiscriminate as it was uncalled for. 
" Traitors and sacramentaries — the friends of 



80 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND, 

the papal authority and the enemies of the papal 
doctrine — were dragged on the same hurdle to 
the gibbet or the stake;" and frequently the 
same day and place witnessed the execution of 
Romish martyrs, denying the royal supremacy, 
and of Protestant confessors, refusing to believe 
the royal creed. 

In May, 1541, the Bible was printed in the 
form of a large folio, and being enriched with a 
noble preface by the archbishop, was known as 
Cranmer's Bible. It was ordered to be set up in 
all the churches, on the penalty of forty shillings 
a month for every church which should neglect 
the royal ordinance, The " Necessary Erudition 
of a Christian Man" was also prepared at this 
time, though it was not published till two years 
after. 

These steps in favor of reform were not at all 
agreeable to the popish adherents : consequently, 
strenuous efforts were made in the convocation 
to suppress the English Bible, against which ob- 
jections were raised on the charge of its being 
an incorrect version of the original. Gardiner, 
bishop of Winchester, the most subtle, acute, 
and determined enemy of the Reformation, hit 
upon a plan to destroy the value of the translation 
almost entirely to the English reader. This was, 



Gardiner's scheme. 81 

by retaining a great number of words (a hundred 
or more,) just as they are in the original Hebrew 
and Greek, and in the Latin version, without 
translating them, but only putting them into En- 
glish letters ; such as parasceve, the preparation ; 
holocausta, whole burnt-offering ; simulacrum, an 
image ; pontifex, chief priest ; idiota, unlearned 
or ignorant man; &c. Had this notable scheme 
succeeded, the English Bible would have still 
been in great measure in an unknown tongue to 
the people — just the very thing which the papists 
wished then, just what they wish now, because 
it is next to impossible where the Bible is allowed 
to be read freely, in the language understood by 
all, to blind the eyes and sear the consciences of 
Christians, so as to make them believe and trust 
in the lying abominations of Romish corruption. 
Happily Cranmer succeeded in defeating this 
scheme, and the revision of the Bible was ordered 
to be committed to the universities ; thus, in the 
language of quaint old Thomas Fuller, the Church 
historian, " saving it from the policy of Gardiner, 
who, being unable to extinguish the light, was 
for putting it into a dark lantern." 

The late queen, Catharine Howard, having 
been beheaded on account of criminal lewdness 
and licentious conduct previously to her elevation 
5 



82 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

to the throne, Henry, in 1543, was again married 
to Catharine Parr, a lady whose principles were 
settled and decidedly in favor of the Reformation. 
In every way possible, sometimes even to the 
risk of her life, through the jealous vanity and 
wrong-headedness of the king, she favored the 
views and helped forward the plans of the arch- 
bishop. But as the king was now easily wrought 
upon to do evil, it was not difficult to find a 
victim for his cruelty. A young, talented and 
beautiful lady, by name, Anne Askew, and much 
in the queen's favor, was easily entangled in the 
meshes of the net which Gardiner and his accom- 
plices cast for heretical denial of transubstantia- 
tion. She was tried and convicted, as a matter 
of course, since there was no way of escape on 
such a question. She was not immediately ex- 
ecuted, but, after a short respite, was again 
apprehended, and again went through the ordeal 
of hard words and papistical abuse. Her appeal 
to the king is affecting and well worth perusal : — 
" I, Anne Askew, of good memory, although 
God hath given me the bread of adversity and 
the water of trouble, yet not so much as my sins 
have deserved, desire this to be known unto 
your Grace, that forasmuch as I am by the law 
condemned for an evil doer, here I take heaven 



ANNE ASKEW. 83 

and earth to record, that I shall die in my inno- 
cency. And, according to that I have said first, 
and will say last, I utterly abhor and detest all 
heresies. And, as concerning the Supper of the 
Lord, I believe so much as Christ has said 
therein, which He confirmed with His most 
blessed blood. I believe so much as He willed 
me to follow, and so much as the Catholic Church 
of Him doth teach ; for I will not forsake the 
commandment of His holy life. But look, what 
God hath charged me with His mouth, that have 
I shut up in my heart. And thus briefly I end 
for lack of learning." 

Had not Henry's heart been steeled against 
compassion, he could not have resisted this ap- 
peal ; but he yielded not ; and the noble lady 
having been ignominiously racked by no less 
persons than Chancellor Wriothesly and lord 
Rich, who, with their own hands, performed this 
devilish office, was brought out to die a martyr's 
death. Bravely did she sustain the trial ; cheer- 
fully and full of hope did she endure the flames 
and pass to her eternal award. 

Several attempts were made to entrap the 
queen, and the archbishop ; but providentially 
they were defeated, and Cranmer still continued 
his unremitting labors in the good cause. Various 



84 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

superstitious practices in force at this period 
were corrected by him in a visitation held in the 
autumn of 1543, such, for instance, as bell-ringing 
and sprinkling holy water to still the thunder 
and drive away the devil; using holy candles 
and incantations, and pouring red hot coals on 
the grave of the archbishop's chaplain, to show 
what he deserved for favoring the Reformation, 
&c. About the same time the capricious king, 
who was now guided more by circumstances and 
passion than anything else, forbade under heavy 
penalties the reading of the Scriptures, except by 
persons of a certain rank : jet it is remarkable, 
and seems clearly to point out the hand of divine 
Providence, that Henry would listen to no charges 
against Cranmer, who was constantly attacked 
by the papal party, and could easily have been 
convicted under the act of the Six Articles. Even 
those who were under deep obligations to the 
archbishop were concerned in these plots, but 
they were freely forgiven by him — so freely and 
so fully that it became a common saying, that 
" if you do my lord of Canterbury an ill turn 
you make him your friend for life." 

In the midst of these many and sore trials, 
the untiring archbishop toiled on. His hands 
were somewhat strengthened by the advancement 



LITANY KING S PRIMER. 85 

of several of the Reformers to the bench, and he 
drew up this year (1544) a Litany in English, 
with suffrages or responses, corresponding almost 
entirely with that contained in our Prayer Book ; 
the invocation of saints and angels, however, 
was retained, and a clause for deliverance " from 
the bishop of Rome and all his detestable enor- 
mities." To this work, psalms and private de- 
votions were added, and in the preface the utility 
of private prayer in the mother tongue is strongly 
insisted on. In the following year a collection 
of prayers was published, which were drawn up 
by the queen herself. Cranmer also succeeded 
in gaining the king's consent for the suppression 
of all images in the churches, and for prohibiting 
the superstitious practice of veiling the cross in 
Lent, and kneeling and creeping to the same. 
He also published the King's Primer in English, 
with some Psalms and Lessons out of the New 
Testament, which gave great offence to the pa- 
pists, and they publicly burned the book. 

The remainder of Henry's reign presents little 
that need be dwelt upon. The cause of truth al- 
ternately favored and oppressed, was, on the 
whole, progressive ; though in its course it was 
marred and hindered by weakness, wickedness, 
folly, fanaticism and deadly opposition. Martyrs 



86 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

were brought to the stake for opinions the most 
various and contradictory ; fanatics traversed the 
country, exciting to sedition and wild lawlessness 
of sentiment and practice ; there were Predesti- 
narians, Antinomians, Anabaptists, Fifth-monar- 
chy men, Arians, Davidians, Libertines, and ma- 
nifold others ; irreverence and shocking levity 
prevailed more or less ; churches and religious 
houses were profaned by dogs, horses and other 
creatures, and plundered without scruple ; igno- 
rant teachers, blind leaders of the blind, only 
excited contempt and scorn ; and alehouses were 
filled with conceited disputants who, over their 
cups, talked of the mysteries of faith and the 
deep things of God with shameless audacity, and 
dissolute scoffers made songs upon these sacred 
subjects. 

Such were some of the excesses, the deplora- 
ble excesses arising from the overturning of the 
old system of corruption which had disgraced the 
world for centuries : yet still we say, the cause of 
truth was making advances slowly and painfully, 
yet certainly. Not only had the papal supremacy 
been destroyed, and many of the abominations of 
popery put down by the civil authority ; but, what 
was better, the Scriptures of truth had been laid 
open ; the Bible and the three Creeds had been 



THINGS YET TO BE DONE. 87 

declared to be the rule of faith ; copies of it were 
in circulation throughout the kingdom ; the litany- 
was published ; a portion of Holy Writ was read 
in divine service ; the children were to be in- 
structed in every parish in the Creed, the Lord's 
Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, and men 
were beginning to look at truth through the me- 
dium of Gospel light and to embrace it for its own 
sake, even though it led to the gibbet or the stake. 
All this was much gained, it must be confessed, 
though much, very much remained to be done 
before the Church could put on the garments of 
rejoicing, or the truth of God shine forth with un- 
clouded lustre. The act of the Six Articles was 
still in force ; auricular confession was still bound 
upon the consciences of the people ; transubstan- 
tiation was still the doctrine of the standards of 
the Church ; the mass, or public service, was still 
mostly in Latin ; the celibacy of the clergy was 
still enforced ; the cup was still denied to the lai- 
ty, and the power of the ecclesiastical courts was 
still continued in all its oppressiveness and bigot- 
ry; nevertheless the way was opening by which 
these burdens and evils and errors could be re- 
moved ; the leaven of truth was working power- 
fully, and ere long its effects were gloriously to 
be manifested. 



88 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

Henry VIII. died January 27th, 1547, after a 
reign of about thirty-seven years. Possessed of 
good abilities and well read for the time in which 
he lived, and naturally of noble and generous 
dispositions, he became through evil influences 
and unbridled indulgence, a self-willed and 
haughty tyrant, a licentious king, a cruel and 
hard-hearted man. He put no restraint upon his 
passions; he was fickle, capricious, vain, over- 
bearing, and ungrateful ; and so determined was 
he when his heart was set upon an object, that 
neither heaven nor hell were sufficient to turn him 
from his purpose. We can have no sympathy 
with him as a man, we detest him as a tyrant, and 
we utterly abhor his licentious despotism. 

Still, let it be observed how God brings about 
the accomplishment of His purposes, even by the 
agency of such instruments as Henry VIII. A 
king less unscrupulous and more honorable never 
would have forced a divorce from so patient and 
sorrowing a wife as Katharine of Arragon, yet 
the consequence of this was the ruin of the pope's 
supremacy ; # a king more upright and less grasp- 

* This (his supremacy in Church as well as state,) was, in fact, 
Henry's own most passionate desire. It was well that it was so, or 
Protestantism might never have been established as it was in his 
great daughter's reign. He had himself no regard for the truth in 



henry's death and character. 89 

ing after money, not for money's sake, but to gra- 
tify his lusts and passions, never would have ven- 
tured to crush the monastic establishments, the 
bulwarks of popery and the grand engines of its 
power and credit among the people. These things 

anything he did. The Gospel light as little beamed on him from 
Boleyn's laughing eyes, when she was about to mount his bed, as 
from her serene and patient look when she was about to mount his 
scaffold. The Gospel light has nothing to do with lust, has no sym- 
pathy for satisfied cruelty, takes no regard of personal interests, 
sheds no virtue upon ambitious passions, and could find in the whole 
huge bulk of Henry not a crevice or a corner into which it might 
cast even one of its diviner rays. Yet who, save Henry, could have 
done what the time cried out for ? What, save his reckless bru- 
tality could have discharged that painful but imperative work? 
Who could have so thrust down the monasteries and hunted out the 
priests? Who would have dared, save he, to cram his own exche- 
quer with their enormous revenues ? Above all, what prince or 
priest, acting sincerely as a reformer of the faith and a champion 
of Luther's doctrines, could have done what was so absolutely 
needful at the first flinging down of the national allegiance to 
Rome ; could have kept in resolute check both Protestant and (Ro- 
man) Catholic ; could have persecuted with an equal hand the 
Romanist and the Lutheran ; could have passed as an adherent to 
Catholic doctrines, while he spurned the papal authority, and have 
loudly declared his passion for transubstantiation, while he still more 
loudly shouted forth his abhorrence of submission to a court at Rome ! 
Be it assuredly believed, that all was more wisely ordered than the 
mere wisdom of ordinary policy could presume to have foreseen. 
This broad and vicious body of Henry the Eighth was as the bridge 
between the old and the new religions. — Foster's Introduction to 
The Statesmen of the Commonwealth of England, p. xix. 
5* 



90 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

Henry did, and we are reaping the advantages 
of what was then begun. Let us bless God for 
the merciful deliverance from popish chains of 
darkness and superstition, even though it was 
done by such an instrument ; and as we think of 
the trials of fire and blood through which our fa- 
thers passed, let us resolve to hold fast to the truth 
in its integrity, and rather die than betray the in- 
terests of Christ and His Church. 



CHAPTER IV 



a.d. 1547—1549. 

Edward VI. — his high and noble character — Cranmer's position and 
wishes — Edward Seymour, lord protector — his character — spoli- 
ations of church property — evils of rash zeal — images destroyed 
in churches — general visitation — necessity of it — First Book of 
Homilies — Gardiner and Bonner in trouble — act for communion 
in both kinds — Six Article act repealed — chantries, chapels, &c., 
given to royal treasury — images ordered to be entirely removed — ■ 
revision of the liturgy — -proceedings of the committee — Cranmer's 
catechism — First Book of king Edward VI. — how it differs from 
the present Book of Common Prayer — its value not to be 
denied. 

Edward VI. , at the time of his ascending the 
throne, was in his tenth year, a fair and lovely 
boy, giving promise of great and good things. 
Naturally amiable and kind, and through his mo- 
ther, connected with a family devoted to reform 



92 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

in the Church, he was so blessed as to be placed 
under most excellent instructors, who fostered 
everything good in him, who poured into his mind 
every thing ennobling and elevating, and who, at 
last, so trained him up in learning and godliness, 
that he was the wonder of his day for mental and 
spiritual culture, and has come down to us with 
his fair name unstained by aught of folly or 
crime.* But his was no crown of ease : the in- 
heritance left to him was attended with cares and 
anxieties, well nigh too heavy for the young king 
to bear : the prospect before him was marked by 
hard and bitter contentions, by the wrangling of 
parties, by the suffering of the Church, by the 



* Cardan, a distinguished Italian philosopher, who was In Eng- 
land at this time, saw and conversed with Edward, and after that 
prince's death, wrote thus of him :— " All the graces were in him : 
he had many tongues when he was yet but a child : together with 
the English, his natural tongue, he had both Latin and French, nor 
was he ignorant, as I hear, of the Greek, Italian and Spanish, and 
perhaps some more : but for the English, French and Latin, he was 
exact in them, and was apt to learn every thing : nor was he igno- 
rant of logic, of the principles of natural philosophy, nor of music. 
The sweetness of his temper was such as became a mortal — his 
gravity becoming the majesty of a king, and his disposition was 
suitable to his high degree. In sum, that child was so bred, had 
such parts, and was of such expectation, that he looked like a 
miracle of a man. These things are not spoken rhetorically and 
beyond the truth, but are indeed short of it" 



edward's character. 93 

struggles of the truth against opposing error. 
Nevertheless, he neither wished, nor was able, 
had he wished, to draw back; and from all the 
evidences which are left to us, we find that Ed- 
ward was fitting himself for the heavy duties and 
responsibilities of king of England, by a course 
of discipline of mind and heart, which, had it 
pleased God to lengthen his life, would doubtless 
have led to the happiest results. 

The young king was proclaimed January 31st, 
1547, four days after his father's death. By 
Henry's will, axchbishopCranmer was appointed 
to a prominent station in the council of direction 
during the minority of the king : but as well from 
choice as from a desire to look to the affairs of the 
Church, at this period in no little danger, he took 
but small share in mere matters of state. His 
great aim and object was, now that every thing 
was so favorable for carrying out the principles of 
the Reformation, to proceed temperately yet vi- 
gorously in ridding the Church of errors and cor- 
ruptions which still marred its beauty and fair 
proportions, and in setting forth the truth of God 
in all its purity and integrity. In consequence of 
this disposition on the part of the archbishop, he 
was led to the more thorough examination of se- 
veral points in dispute between the Reformers and 



94 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

papists, and we find, that subsequently to the last 
year of Henry's reign, he steadily maintained the 
doctrines which the Church of England has ever 
since held, particularly with respect to the sacra- 
ment of the Lord's Supper. Ridley and Lati- 
mer had previously renounced transubstantiation, 
and from this date these noble men and servants 
of the Most High labored, with most entire una- 
nimity, in the cause of their Divine Master. 

The council very early appointed Edward Sey- 
mour, the earl of Hertford, governor of the king's 
person and Lord Protector; he was also created 
duke of Somerset. Being the maternal uncle of 
Edward, and a warm friend to the Reformation, 
he was enabled to be of essential service to the 
cause of truth, and we find that he joined heart 
and hand with Cranmer in the work of reform, 
and restoration of primitive soundness and order. 
It is not to be concealed, however, that Somerset 
was one of the largest sharers in the spoil of 
Church property, and that he did not scruple to 
join with the ungodly and the profane in taking 
that to which he certainly had no just claim ; 
all this, too, despite the earnest and indignant re- 
monstrances and entreaties of the Reformers. 
But, in truth, this was the course pursued by all 
who could in any way get hold of ecclesiastical 



CHURCH SPOLIATION. 95 

revenues : every one plundered the Church with 
impunity ; from the king and parliament down to 
the meanest servant of some lucky courtier, there 
was a longing desire after the untold wealth of 
monasteries, bishoprics, deaneries, prebends, 
chantries, &c.,* and it was thought a hard case 
for those about court, if they could not lay hands 
on that which had been left, with an awful impre- 
cation against its spoilers, for the cause of religion 
and the maintenance of the clergy. Sad are we 
to say it, but the Church of England has never 
fully recovered from the injuries then inflicted 
upon her. 

In a previous chapter we have spoken of the 
violent reaction which took place when popery 
was suddenly broken up, and men's minds were 
set loose from the thraldom in which they had so 
long been held, and of the excesses, the disgrace- 
ful excesses, which had taken place in conse- 
quence. Hardly had this reign commenced, 

* Bp. Burnet says, that it was ordinary at that time, for laymen 
to hold preferments without cure of souls. Protector Somerset had 
six good prebends promised him, two of these being afterwards con- 
verted into a deanery and treasurership. Lord Cromwell had been 
dean of Wells, Sir Thomas Smith, who was in deacon's orders, 
though living as a layman, was dean of Carlisle. Numerous other 
instances of this scandalous irreverence and church spoliation might 
be enumerated. 



96 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

when the evil effects of rash zeal began again to 
be manifest. Many persons, enemies of the old 
superstition, without waiting for authorhy, and 
knowing that images were condemned by the 
Reformers, thought that they were doing good 
service by tumultuously proceeding to destroy 
them in the churches in London, and elsewhere. 
This they did, to a large extent, until severe 
measures were resorted to for stopping their 
lawless doings. But not only in respect to the 
pulling down of images and defacing shrines, 
and making havoc of the ornaments in churches, 
but also in various other things, the same spirit 
of rashness and hot haste, gave rise to much 
trouble and discord ; so that, Cranmer and his 
associates were, at times, in as much danger of 
making shipwreck through the injudicious zeal of 
hasty and thoughtless allies, as through the open 
and violent opposition of the favorers of Rome. 
This will be exemplified as we go on. 

One of the earliest steps taken by Cranmer for 
the good of the Church, was the obtaining a 
general visitation throughout the realm, for the 
purpose of regulating all such matters as required 
notice and change. This was especially neces- 
sary, because of the fact, that the clergy 7 , as a 
body, were uneducated, and much disposed to 



EVILS TO BE REMEDIED. 97 

retain the superstitions and corruptions of Rome ; 
so that the truth was hindered in its onward 
progress by the want of learned, faithful and 
active parish priests, who should not only have 
knowledge sufficient, but should be able and 
willing to communicate it by preaching to the 
people. Nor only so ; the people themselves, too 
generally grossly ignorant, and both by habit 
and long standing custom, attached to the notions 
and practices in vogue for hundreds of years 
past, were far from being as ready to embrace 
the doctrines of the Gospel in their purity and 
simplicity, as might, at first sight, be imagined ; 
and as, when the monasteries were broken up, 
many hundreds of monks were scattered over 
the country in all directions, these teachers of 
popery kept alive the flame, stirred up dissatis- 
faction, and wherever possible, filled the vacan- 
cies in the poorer parishes, it is manifest that the 
Reformation was greatly impeded, and its real 
object shamefully spoken against. 

The archbishop and his assistants in the great 
work, were desirous, as far as possible, to remedy 
these serious evils, and to draw away the minds 
of the people from the bad influence of papistical 
instructors. For this purpose, the First Book of 
Homilies was composed, and published in July, 



98 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND* 

of the present year, (1547) and Erasmus's Para- 
phrase of the New Testament was ordered to 
be set up in every parish church, in order to 
assist the unlearned in understanding Holy Scrip- 
ture. The bishops also were enjoined not only 
to preach themselves, but to take care that their 
chaplains did so, and to admit none to holy 
orders who were not well qualified for the sacred 
office, especially in that point then so needful, 
viz. ability to preach and maintain the doctrines 
of the Reformation. The Homilies, it may here 
be observed, were probably in great part com- 
posed by Cranmer, with the aid of Ridley, 
Latimer, Becon, and others, and while there 
was so great scarcity of persons able to preach 
the reformed faith, that the people, nevertheless, 
should not suffer, these excellent and timely dis- 
courses were commanded to be read in the 
churches. Several other wholesome regulations 
were likewise enjoined. 

The political successes of the protector and 
his party gave them additional weight in the 
community, and enabled them to push forward 
vigorously the measures of reform. Not a little 
opposition, however, was excited among the op- 
ponents of Cranmer and the steps he judged 
needful to the cause of God's truth. Both Gar- 



ACTS OF CONVOCATION. 99 

diner, bishop of Winchester, of whose character 
and principles we have spoken freely already, 
and Bonner, bishop of London, well known to 
posterity by his horrid cruelty in the reign of 
Mary and his shameless tergiversations, objected 
to the introduction of the Homilies and the Para- 
phrase. As their opposition went to considerable 
length, they were sent to prison on the charge of 
disobedience to the royal injunctions. It is sup- 
posed, and with reason we think, that they were 
treated with uncalled for severity. 

Parliament met in November ; at the same 
time the convocation assembled, and by direction 
of Cranmer, who was extremely active and zeal- 
ous, entered heartily upon the consideration of 
the affairs of the Church. An ordinance " fo r 
the receiving the body of our Lord under both 
kinds, namely, of bread and wine," was unani- 
mously adopted by this body, and soon after was 
sanctioned by parliament. By this statute, the 
abuses of communion in one kind, and of solitary 
masses, were put a stop to, a matter of very 
great importance, as it deprived the priest of the 
tremendous power which he exercised, under the 
papal system, and rendered the people more 
alive to their personal concern in the sacraments 
and services of the Church. It also provided that 



100 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

persons who spoke irreverently or contemptously 
of the blessed Eucharist, should be punished by 
fine and imprisonment, at the pleasure of the 
king : this step was taken in consequence of the 
licentiousness of speech every where prevalent, 
since men were rid of the terror of papal infalli- 
bility, and thought that there was no longer any 
thing sacred or solemn in religion. 

The repeal of the act of the Six Articles, that 
whip of scorpions, as it has been termed, was 
among the first things done by this parliament ; 
and they did not stop here ; but went on to repeal 
all the penal acts relating to " doctrine and 
matters of religion," which had rendered the 
latter portion of Henry's reign so full of persecu- 
tion and bloodshed. These wise and judicious 
measures were very seasonable helps to the arch- 
bishop and his co-workers, and encouraged them 
to go on in the accomplishment of their momen- 
tous labors. Parliament also passed an act 
giving to the king chantries, free chapels, col- 
leges, and whatever other Church property had 
escaped the grasping rapacity of Henry VIII. 
and his greedy court. Cranmer vigorously op- 
posed this iniquitous measure, but all in vain. 
The men of that day, with hardly an exception, 
seemed to be wholly reckless as to the wants of 



BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. 101 

the Church, and the absolute need of temporal 
provision for the support of a learned and ef- 
ficient body of clergy. 

The year 1548 opened with several very im- 
portant movements towards the reformation of 
religious matters. An order in council was issued 
for the entire removal of images and shrines from 
the churches, and for the suppression of many 
superstitious ceremonies ; and the clergy were 
required to preach against pilgrimages and image 
worship. At the same time severe penalties 
were threatened against all such as abused or 
treated improperly the houses of God, which, 
we are grieved to say, had been disgraced on 
various occasions by scenes of riot and confusion; 
and none were allowed to make rash innovations, 
and interfere with such things as were still 
according to the laws of the realm. 

In February, a committee was appointed for 
the purpose of revising the Liturgy, and arranging 
in some uniform system the public worship and 
services of the Church; a step which calls for 
especial notice on our part, because it was the 
beginning of that great work which resulted 
finally in the compilation of the Book of Common 
Prayer. The committee began with that which 
was the most urgent, viz., the service for the 



102 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

Communion, in which alteration was greatly 
needed because of the clearer and more correct 
views which the Reformers had begun to enter- 
tain since they doubted and denied the truth of 
transubstantiation. Questions, to the number of 
ten, were proposed and answers in writing re- 
quired : these maybe seen in bishop Burnet's 
large History of the Reformation, and are not 
only interesting in themselves, but will manifest 
the great care which was taken in all that was 
done by the bishops and doctors of the Church, 
for the restoration of purity and order. 

On the eighth of March, the Communion Office 
was published : in substance it is nearly the same 
as that in the Prayer Book of the Protestant 
Episcopal Church. Cranmer seems to have gone 
on the principle of making as few changes as 
possible, retaining whatever was innocent in the 
service of the mass, and leaving some portions of 
it untranslated from the original Latin. 

Not long after, the archbishop set forth a 
" Catechism, or Short Instruction into Christian 
Religion, for the singular commodity and profit 
of Children and Young People," which is usually 
known by the name of Cranmer *s Catechism. It 
was translated from the Latin version of a Ger- 
man catechism by Justus Jonas, used at Nurem- 



cranmer's catechism. 103 

berg, and consists of expositions of the Ten 
Commandments, the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, 
the Authority of the Keys, and the Lord's Sup- 
per. It is hardly so clear in its statements of 
the truth as might be expected, for even as yet 
the archbishop seems to have retained, in words 
at least, a respect for some of the popish errors 
and perversions : still, as he was not the author 
of this Catechism, but simply the translator, it is 
not quite fair to charge upon him the errors of 
the original. This Catechism, however, ere 
long, gave place to one of English origin, which 
is the admirable one now in the Book of Common 
Prayer, except that part which relates to the 
sacraments, which was added in the time of 
James I. 

The commission who had in charge the ar- 
rangement of the public services of the Church, 
met at Windsor, May 8th, and proceeded zeal- 
ously and faithfully to perform the duty assigned 
them. They examined the Breviaries, Missals 
and Rituals, together with other books and offices 
at that time in use. These they compared with 
the ancient Gallican, Spanish, Alexandrian and 
Oriental liturgies, and the writings of the early 
fathers. Whatever they found to agree with the 
doctrine of Holy Scripture and the worship of 



104 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

the primitive Church, they generally retained. 
But they rejected the numerous palpable corrup- 
tions and superstitious innovations which had 
been gradually brought in during the middle 
ages. 

By the end of November the whole was finish- 
ed, and met the cordial approval of the clergy of 
the provinces of Canterbury and York. It re- 
ceived the sanction of the king and both houses 
of Parliament, January 15th, 1549 ; and it was 
enacted, " that the said form of Common Prayer, 
and no other, should, after the Feast of Pentecost 
next following, be used in all his majesty's do- 
minions." 

Our readers will take notice, that this is what 
is called the First Booh of Edward VI. It differs 
in several respects from the Prayer Book as fi- 
nally adopted by the Church of England, and 
from the nature of the case retains more of what 
we should call popish than at present would be 
approved of. But it should not be forgotten, in 
forming a judgment on the propriety of this 
course, that the Reformers deemed their plan by 
far the most wise and judicious which could be 
adopted : they knew that reformation to be of 
service, must proceed gradually and deliberately : 
the mass of men are not suddenly to be changed ; 



FIRST BOOK OF EDWARD VI. 105 

customs which have been in use for centuries, 
cannot be thrown aside all at once ; and doctrines 
which have been held and taught for ages, are 
never immediately given up. Hence, as we have 
before remarked, Cranmer and his co-workers 
proceeded on the correct principle of altering as 
little as possible, in the outward forms of things, 
provided sound doctrine lay at the foundation ; 
so that the people might not needlessly have their 
prejudices excited, and might by degrees be led 
into clearer light and knowledge of the truth. 

In this First Book of Edward VL, the morning 
and evening service began with the Lord's 
Prayer. The baptismal service contained a form 
of exorcism, in order to drive away the evil 
spirit from the child, who was annointed and clad 
in a white garment. In the burial of the dead, 
there were prayers for the person buried and 
for the dead in general. When the sick were 
visited, the sick person was to be anointed if he 
desired it, and to be signed with the sign of the 
cross. At the celebration of the Lord's Supper, 
when the elements were given, only the first 
clause of what is now in the Prayer Book was 
used, viz. : — " The Body of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, which was given for thee, preserve thy 
body and soul unto everlasting life ;" " The Blood 
6 



106. REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

of our Lord Jesus Christ, which was shed for 
thee, preserve thy body and soul unto everlasting 
life." Water was also to be mixed with the wine. 
In several other respects, though not of ma- 
terial consequence, the First Book differed from 
the one afterwards adopted by the Church of 
England. The wonder is not that it went no 
further, but that it went so far as it did in its 
approach to purity and truth ; and we who are 
members of that Church which rejoices in a Book 
of Common Prayer, shall be greatly wanting in 
a proper sense of what we owe to those great and 
good men, if we do not entertain and cherish for 
their memory, feelings of respect and gratitude ; 
and if we do not strive, by every means in our 
power, to show that we value the Prayer Book 
as it ought to be valued, by living holy and con- 
sistent lives, and by adorning the doctrine of 
God our Saviour in all things. 



CHAPTER V 



a. d. 1549—1551. 

Opposition to the new book — insurrections — ecclesiastical visitation 
— transubstantiation under discussion — doctrine of the Church of 
England on the Eucharist— public disputations — Joan Bocher— - 
licentiousness of opinion and practice— Bonner deprived — Ridley 
translated to London — Ridley's visitation — ordination offices — 
distinguished foreigners — troubles of a new kind — contrast be- 
tween English and continental Reformation — Cranmer's settled 
views on the subject of the ministry — forty-two articles — thirty- 
nine adopted — not Calvinistic — how to be interpreted. 

Hardly had the Book of Common Prayer been 
set forth by authority, and enjoined to be used 
in every church throughout the realm, when 
many and violent censures were expressed 
against it. They who were still wedded to the 
Romish system could ill brook to have any of the 
service in English instead of Latin, transubstan- 



108 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

tiation denied, the Holy Scriptures opened to the 
people, and such like things, the result of the 
labors of the Reformers ; much less were they 
willing themselves to use the newly appointed 
book, and be thereby the agents of instructing 
the people in what they actually hated and con- 
temned. It would not have mattered greatly, 
perhaps, had the opposers of these needful re- 
forms been content in uttering their dissatisfac- 
tion in words merety; but so far from this, we 
find that through the influence of some priests 
and zealous defenders of popery, formidable 
insurrections were stirred up in Devonshire, 
Cornwall, and Norfolk. It was only by employ- 
ing a large force and using, severe measures with 
the ringleaders, that these revolts were crushed. 
An ecclesiastical visitation was appointed early 
in this year, (1549,) for the purpose of suppress- 
ing many superstitious practices which still con- 
tinued to be observed, and also to inquire into 
various pernicious heresies in order to have them 
rooted out. The consequence of ail this was, 
the bringing into discussion one of the funda- 
mental doctrines of popery, and one which gives 
its priesthood tremendous power and influence 
over the people. We mean transubstantiation, 
that is, the change of the elements of bread and 



TRANSUBSTANTIATION. 109 

wine into the actual body and blood of the glori- 
fied Redeemer, so that what we see and taste? 
and what appears to our senses to be bread and 
wine, is so no longer, but is the very body of 
Christ our Lord, which was offered on the 
cross. Now, as the priest, every time that he 
pronounced over the elements the words, " This 
is my body," transubstantiated the bread and 
wine into the body and blood of Christ ; and 
as our Master himself distinctly declared, " who- 
so eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath 
eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last 
day;" it followed, that the priest had it in his 
power to give or withhold that which would 
certainly save a man's soul, no matter what his 
life and conduct might be. It was hence im- 
portant, not only to obtain uniformity of practice, 
not only to get the people accustomed to the 
changes made in the public services and formu- 
laries, but also to show them the errors of this 
popish dogma, and to induce them to adopt, un- 
derstandingly, the doctrine of Holy Scripture 
and the primitive Church respecting the sacra- 
ment of the Lord's Supper. This was the more 
important, because of the attachment of the com- 
mon people to such doctrines and practices as 
removed the responsibility from themselves, and 



110 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

enabled them to trust to the priest every thing 
which related to the interests of their souls. 

We may here observe, in passing, that the 
Church of England and the Protestant Episcopal 
Church in the United States, repudiate transub- 
stantiation; neither do they hold consubstantia- 
tion, # nor the opinion of some modern sects which 
destroys the sacrament entirely, as a divinely 
appointed means of grace. Their doctrine on 
this point is, that the bread and wine are symbols 
of the body and blood of Christ, which are 
verily and indeed taken and received by the 
faithful in the Lord's Supper. " To such as 
rightly, worthily, and with faith receive the 
same, the bread which we break is a partaking 
of the body of Christ ; and likewise the cup of 
blessing is a partaking of the blood of Christ." 
(Art. xxviii.) 

Public discussions were held on this subject 
both at Oxford and Cambridge ; and the arch- 
bishop wrote a learned treatise on the Eucharist,f 

* Consubstantiation is a dogma of Luther's. He taught that the 
bread and wine remained, as our senses teach us, but that our 
Lord's body is joined to the bread, or is in and with the bread in 
some" miraculous manner, so that it is actually eaten with the 
bread ; a tenet which seems to us to be even more contradictory 
and absurd than the popish view of the sacrament. 

t The title of it is, " A Defence of the True and Catholick 



PUBLIC DISCUSSIONS. Ill 

to which Gardiner made a specious but weak 
reply. Cranmer, very soon after, issued his 
answer to the " crafty and sophistical cavilla- 
tion" of Gardiner and the puny attacks of other 
popish declaimers : this effectually settled the 
question so far as argument was able to do it. # 

The public disputations just alluded to, took 
place on the following heads : — in the eucharist 
there is no transubstantiation. In the bread and 
wine Christ is not corporally present. The 
body and blood of Christ are united to the 
bread and wine sacramentally. The moderation, 
learning and fairness displayed in these discus- 
sions, are worthy of the highest praise, and are 
in striking contrast with the course pursued by 
the papists in the reign of Mary. 

Doctrine of the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Saviour 
Christ ; with a Confutation of sundry Errors concerning the same, 
grounded and established upon God's Holy Word, and approved by 
the consent of the most ancient doctors of the Church. Made by the 
Most Reverend Father in God, Thomas, Archbishop of Canterbury, 
Primate of all England, and Metropolitan. 1550." 

* This volume was re-published several times, and met with 
great and deservedly great approbation. Archbishop Parker has 
said of it, " that no controversy against the papists was ever han- 
dled more accurately ;" and succeeding writers of distinction have 
bestowed their eulogy upon the language as well as the spirit of it, 
upon its acuteness as well as its zeal. — Todd's Vindication of 
Archbishop Cranmer, p. 14. 



112 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

Would that we could say that the same moder- 
ation and justice had been manifested in regard 
to other things ! A half crazed and foolish woman, 
called Joan Bocher, or Joan of Kent, having 
uttered some crude and wicked notions which 
she in ignorance had taken up respecting our 
Lord's incarnation, and which, with ignorant 
intolerance, she stubbornly maintained, was sum- 
moned before a commission, tried, argued with, 
found obstinate, and in the course of the following 
year was delivered up to be burnt. The noble 
young king refused to sign the warrant for her 
death, and it was only at the earnest entreaties 
of Cranmer that he consented; telling him with 
tears that he (the archbishop) must answer for it 
before God. How painful and humiliating to 
find the aged servant of the merciful Redeemer 
engaged in so unworthy a cause, and committing 
an act which we cannot defend but must ever 
deplore !* 

It is not to be denied, however, that most 
abominable licentiousness of opinion and practice 



* In justice to Cranmer, the intelligent reader will observe, that 
the archbishop was not alone in thinking, that impious denials of 
the faith should be punished with death, but that it was the univer- 
sal sentiment of the Reformers, as well in England as on the Con- 
tinent. 



FANATICS IN ENGLAND. 113 

too widely prevailed. Men thought and said 
that the elect could never sin ; that the outward 
man might sin, but the inward man could not, 
and that they had a divine right to any thing 
whatsoever they chose : a horrible doctrine, 
which carried out, would upset the world in a 
very little while. England was overrun, too, 
with a horde of fanatics from abroad, termed 
Anabaptists, who not only scouted at and reviled 
infant baptism, but held besides many other 
pernicious notions ; such as, that all things among 
the saints should be common — that all usury, 
tithes and tribute ought to be abolished — that 
every Christian was invested with the power of 
preaching, if moved to the work- — that the Church 
stood in no need of clergy — that in the kingdom 
of Christ civil magistrates were useless — and 

o 

that God still revealed His will by dreams and 
visions, Other corruptions of faith and manners 
found too ready encouragement among the peo- 
ple, and gave occasion to the papists to exult 
over the troubles arising out of the Reformation. 
In October, 1549, Bonner, bishop of London, 
was deprived of his bishopric because of his 
disobedience to the orders of the council, and in 
February, 1550, Ridley, the great, wise and 
learned bishop of Rochester, was transferred to 
6* 



1 14 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

the important see of London. This brought him 
into still closer intimacy with Cranmer, whose 
friend and chaplain he had been for years, and 
enabled him to do good service to the cause of 
truth and righteousness. 

At his first visitation this year, he entered 
zealously upon his duties ; the clergy were ex- 
horted and warned to do away with superstitious 
practices; the altars of stone were converted into 
communion tables of w^ood, in order that the 
blasphemous notion of an expiatory sacrifice 
there offered by the priest might be effectually 
rooted out; and unauthorized preaching and ex- 
pounding of the Scriptures were condemned. 

In February, 1550, the Ordination Offices 
were prepared, mainly by Ridley, one of a 
committee of twelve appointed for this purpose. 
They were almost precisely the same with those 
now in use ; and their intrinsic beauty and im- 
pressiveness are heightened by the fact, that we 
are using the very words of one of our noble 
army of martyrs, every time we are present at 
and take part in the services appointed for the 
ordination of bishops, priests and deacons. May 
God give us grace rightly to value these our 
inestimable privileges ! 

It is but proper, in this place, to make mention 



NEW TROUBLES. 115 

of, and give due credit to several distinguished 
foreigners, Martin Bucer, Peter Martyr, Tremel- 
lius, a Lasco, Fagius, and others, who visited 
England, and by their learning and zeal, exer- 
cised considerable influence over the shape which 
the English Reformation finally assumed. It is 
necessary, also, to speak of these matters here, 
because it was about this time that troubles of a 
new kind took their rise among the Reformers, 
troubles, which have, more or less, vexed the 
Church of England ever since, have stirred up 
bitter strife, have caused dissensions of no light 
character, and of which, at the present day, we 
are reaping the fruits. We mean by this, that 
the spirit of insubordination, of wilful disobe- 
dience to the laws of the Church, and of per- 
verse, vexatious resistance to authority, in trifling 
and indifferent matters, sprang from foreign inter- 
course. And the reason is plain and evident. 

The Reformation abroad was conducted on 
different principles from that in England ; there 
was more rashness and hastiness, less regard for 
primitive doctrine and usages, and more violent 
controversies than in England. The continental 
Reformers seem to have gone to their work more 
as individuals than as members of the Church 
Catholic. Luther and Calvin became founders 



116 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

of new churches or parties, called by their names; 
whereas, Cranmer and Ridley endeavored to put 
aside entirely what Cranmer or Ridley, indivi- 
dually, might think or do, and labored only for 
the good of the Church at large. Abroad, destruc- 
tion, entire rooting up and overturning was the 
watch-word : in England, every effort was made 
to hold fast to whatever was good and true in the 
popish system, and while sternly renouncing its 
errors and abominations, to bring the Church of 
England back again to primitive truth and order. 
Luther and his compeers met with difficulties in 
obtaining the Apostolic succession, and need- 
lessly, and, as we think, very culpably, made 
light of it, rejected the three orders of the min- 
istry, and thus gave birth to numerous Presby- 
terian societies or churches, things which never 
before were heard of, although perpetuated 
even to the present day ; but Cranmer pursued 
a different course. Though his opinions seem to 
have been unsettled, and even loose on this point, 
though he entertained, during the early part of his 
career, exceeding high notions of the power of 
the civil authority in the affairs of the Church, in 
yet connection with the otherReformers, he calmly 
and firmly declared, that " it is evident unto all 
men, diligently reading Holy Scriptures and an- 



CONTINENTAL REFORMERS. 117 

cient authors, that from the Apostles' time there 
have been these orders of Ministers in Christ's 
Church, — Bishops, Priests, and Deacons." He 
dared not, in his zeal against popery, destroy 
what the Lord Himself had appointed. 

Would to God, that the continental brethren 
had been equally careful, equally considerate ! 
for then we should have been saved a world of 
misery and trouble, and we should have been en- 
abled to present an undivided front against papal 
pretension and wickedness, which perhaps, ere 
this, might have resulted in its downfall. As it 
is, while we, in common with the foreign 
Reformers, lament their want of the Apostolic 
succession, we ought to be especially thankful 
for God's goodness in preserving the Church in 
its integrity and completeness in England. 

The archbishop had, for many years, desired 
to fix upon and establish some basis of union be- 
tween the Protestants in England and those 
abroad ; he had a long and earnest correspondence 
with the excellent Philip Melancthon on this sub- 
ject ; but all his efforts failed of success, as in- 
deed all similar efforts in later da}^s have uni- 
formly done. When this conviction was at last 
forced upon his mind, Cranmer turned himself 
reluctantly towards the preparation of a set of 



118 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

Articles of Religion for the Church of England. 
The king issued orders to this effect, in 1551 ; ar- 
ticles were completed in May, of the same year, 
submitted to the council and to a number of bish- 
ops, and finally agreed upon and published under 
the following title : — " The Articles agreed upon 
by the bishops and other learned and godly men, 
in the last Convocation at London, in the year of 
our Lord, mdlii., for to root out the discord of 
opinions, and establish the agreement of true re- 
ligion; likewise published by the king's majes- 
ty's authority, 1553." The Articles were forty- 
two in number, and were printed, together with 
a short Catechism attached, in Latin and English. 
Subsequently, various unimportant changes were 
made, and in 1562, early in the reign of Elizabeth, 
the present Thirtj^-Nine Articles were established 
by the Church of England. 

The Articles are sometimes claimed as Calvin- 
istic, or, as being in harmony with Calvin's no- 
tions of absolute predestination and reprobation; 
but, as it appears to us, wholly without founda- 
tion. Calvin's fame and influence in England 
were subsequent to Cranmer's day, and not only 
the date, but documents of every kind show that 
the archbishop was guided more by Lutheran 
confessions than by any thing of Calvin's. If 



ARTICLES NOT CALVINISTIC 119 

more be wanting to confirm the truth of this as- 
sertion, it will be found in the fact, that Calvinists 
have very rarely, if ever, been satisfied with the 
Articles as they are, and have made many and 
vigorous efforts to introduce changes which should 
render them clear and precise in support of the 
Genevan Master's dogmas. The truth is, that 
the Articles, if we would understand them, must 
be looked at as pointed against the perversions 
and subtleties of the schoolmen and doctors of the 
middle ages, and against the abominations, doc- 
trinal and practical, of others in the Roman 
Church ; and on no other ground can they be con- 
sistently interpreted, or be made to harmonize 
with the Liturgy and Homilies of the Church. 
This has been abundantly shown in archbishop 
Laurence's Bampton Lectures, a volume, which 
we hope our readers will take an early day to 
consult; and we have no doubt that they will 
agree with us, that the Church does not hold her- 
self committed to the opinions of either St. Au- 
gustine or John Calvin, or, indeed, to those of 
any one or more teachers ; but simply to the doc- 
trines which have been held " always, every 
where, and bj all," since the days of our Lord 
and His Apostles. 



CHAPTER VI. 



a.d. 1551—1553. 

Clergy driven abroad by Six Article act — Hooper — scruples about 
clerical robes — Bucer and Martyr decide against him — sent to 
prison — assents — consecrated bishop — Hooper's motives sincere — 
unfortunate result of this trouble — revision of Book of Common 
Prayer — changes introduced— Ridley's sermon — Gardiner de- 
graded- — Ponet, his successor — Somerset's fall — beheaded — War- 
wick's course — code of laws for the Church — never completed — 
bills passed by parliament, 1552 — dreadful licentiousness of 
opinion and practice — evils of the Reformation — destruction of 
property and manuscripts — mysterious dispensation of Providence 
Edward's sickness — death— character — fearful trial in prospect. 

When the bloody act of the Six Articles was 
passed, numbers of the clergy were driven 
abroad, unable to endure the fierceness of its 
persecutions. They were hospitably received, 
and entertained by the foreign Protestants, and, 



hooper's scruples. 121 

as was but natural, they became tinged with the 
sentiments of those who had cast off every thing 
that approximated at all to Rome, or Roman 
customs. Among these, was Hooper — an up- 
right, pious and faithful minister of Christ, but 
too tenacious of his own opinions, and too much 
given to make trouble about matters little in them- 
selves, but of consequence when enjoined by the 
Church. On the accession of Edward, he, with 
others, returned to England, and Cranmer de- 
sired to have him elevated to the episcopate, be- 
cause of his sterling qualities, not dreaming that 
so sensible and learned a man could ever make 
difficulty about trifling and indifferent things. 
But to his surprise, Hooper refused to wear the 
robes of a bishop, and no advice or argument 
was able to shake his resolution. Even Martin 
Bucer, and Peter Martyr, those learned foreign- 
ers at this time in England, decided, that it was 
not a matter of conscience, but, that a man might 
wear any prescribed garment, and still more, that 
it was a man's duty to obey the laws of the 
Church on this subject. Ridley, also, and Cran- 
mer spent much time in combatting his unreason- 
able scruples, but all to little purpose. After 
the fashion of those days, he was sent to pri- 
son, where he remained six weeks, debating the 



122 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

point ; after which, he yielded a partial and ra- 
ther ungracious consent to wear so much of the 
robes, and on such occasions as could not be 
avoided. With this understanding, he was con- 
secrated bishop of Gloucester, in March, 1551, 
and we are happy to say, that despite his course 
on this subject, he was a faithful, laborious, and 
orderly bishop, and did good service to the cause 
of the Reformation. 

We have no doubt, that Hooper was honest 
and sincere in his opposition to what the Church 
required on the point of clerical robes, and that 
he supposed that more of principle was involved 
than is really the case. He probably thought 
that it was needful to separate so far from popery 
as to cut off every thing, even what was true, in 
that corrupt system, and perhaps, he believed in 
the saying, " the farther from Rome the nearer to 
God." Had he alone been concerned, or had 
those who held similar views with himself, been 
equally candid and open to conviction, there 
would have been no serious and lasting difficulty ; 
but it turned out far otherwise, and the spirit of 
opposition to Church law and Church requirement 
once raised, has been found too powerful ever yet 
to be effectually and permanently laid at rest. 

Men of restless minds ; men whose ideas con- 



VEXATIOUS QUESTIONS. 123 

centered to one point, and thought that it was the 
sum and substance of truth ; men of uneasy ha- 
bits and fault-finding dispositions ; men never con- 
tented with things as they are arranged by the 
Church, but always seeking after change, and 
supposing that they can regulate matters of all 
kinds better than they were ever before ; men, 
whose minds have been cramped or warped by 
bad education ; men, ambitious of place, noto- 
riety, or, of being the head of a party ; men of 
these various sorts, have followed, and been glad 
to have so respectable a pattern to quote, as the 
bishop of Gloucester. And the trouble which 
has arisen in consequence, it would be impossi- 
ble fully to state. We can only briefly say, that 
there never has been found wanting a man to 
keep alive a spirit of perverse opposition and 
wilful disregard of the law of the Church, in those 
matters which she has a perfect right to regulate. 
Manifold have been the discussions, and bitter 
the controversies on this subject. Not even 
Hooker's learning and wisdom, as shown in his 
great work on " Ecclesiastical Polity," have been 
able to settle the question entirely ; and we see 
sometimes, even in our own day, clergymen tak- 
ing more or less liberty to themselves on points 
determined by the Church, according as they are 



124 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

more or less disposed to reverence what she has 
laid down for them to obey, or to set up in oppo- 
sition, their own wishes and opinions. Our read- 
ers will find it deeply interesting, to trace the 
spirit above spoken of, through Elizabeth's reign 
to its final development in the Puritans of Jame 
Sixth, and Charles First's days. It is beside ou: 
present purpose to enter into this question. 

The Book of Common Prayer as set forth by 
authority, in January, 1549, was used throughout 
the realm from that date. The experience of a 
few years, however, and the inveterate clamor 
raised by the papal party and by others, sug- 
gested the need of some changes, and a review 
was accordingly ordered by the heads of the 
Church. The alterations made were substantially 
these : — the First Book of Edward VI. began 
with the Lord's Prayer ; there were now intro- 
duced the Sentences, the Exhortation, the General 
Confession and the Absolution ; the idea of which 
was derived from a form of prayer in use by 
the Protestant congregation in Strasburgh. The 
Litany was ordered to be used on Sundays. 
The Ten Commandments were made a part of 
the Communion Service ; the thanksgiving for 
the saints, the name of the Virgin Mary, the sign 
of the cross in consecrating the elements, the 



SECOND BOOK OF EDWARD VI. 125 

mixture of water with the wine, &c, were 
omitted. In the Baptismal Service, the form of 
exorcism, the anointing of the child and the trine 
immersion were discontinued. So too in visiting 
the sick, anointing was done away with ; and in 
the Burial Service, prayers for the dead, and the 
office for the Eucharist at funerals, were left out. 
In this review, the sentiments of Martin Bucer 
and Peter Martyr, both men of note for learning 
and piety, seem to have had considerable weight. 
Early in 1552, the Book of Common Prayer, as 
thus changed, was authorized by act of parlia- 
ment, and is in substance the same with that 
now in use hj the Church of England. On the 
day appointed for the introduction of the Book 
as revised, the service was read in his cathedral 
by Ridley, habited, conformably to the new ru- 
bric, in his rochet only, without the embroidered 
cope or vestment. In the afternoon, we are told, 
'" a sermon was preached by him at St. Paul's 
Cross, chiefly on the new Service Book: and his 
discourse was of such formidable length, that 
the corporation of London, who attended it, de- 
parted homeward, at nearly five o'clock, by 
torch-light."* 

* Ls Bas's Life of Cranmer, vol. ii. p. 63, 



126 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND/ 

Gardiner, bishop of Winchester, who had been 
imprisoned in 1547, gave the government a great 
deal of trouble ; he was kept in confinement, on 
the charge of obstinacy and attachment to popish 
superstitions, and was finally, after suffering se- 
vere and harsh treatment, deprived of his bishop- 
ric, April 18th, 1551. He was succeeded in the 
see of Winchester by Dr. Ponet, a divine of 
eminent worth and learning; but the new bishop 
did not succeed to the revenues of his office. 
Only a pittance was allowed him ; the rest went 
to supply some hungry courtiers — " honorable 
persons," they are called — and hangers-on about 
the great men in power. It is no want of charity 
to suppose that Gardiner's wealth rendered the 
vision of the court much more acute than usual 
in detecting his iniquities. 

Shortly after the settlement of this affair, the 
duke of Somerset, the lord protector, met with a 
lamentable downfall. By the intrigues of Dud- 
lejf, earl of Warwick — afterwards the notorious 
duke of Northumberland — he was charged with 
treasonable designs, and sent to the tower, in 
July, 1549. On his trial no charges of material 
consequence were substantiated, though it was 
manifest that he had been vain, ambitious, and 
unwise ; that he, too, with the rest of the court, 



somerset's fall. 127 

had seized upon the revenues of the Church ; 
and that his. policy had failed to secure the 
triumph of British arms abroad, or peace and 
tranquility at home. After a confinement of about 
four months he was released, but having taken 
some steps which laid him open to Northumber- 
land's jealousy and hate, he was again arrested 
and convicted of felony ; and though not guilty 
of crimes meriting death, he was brought to the 
scaffold and beheaded, January 22d, 1552. 

The popish party expected to profit by the 
overthrow of so distinguished a man and so firm 
a friend to the Reformation ; but Warwick, who 
succeeded him in the chief management of affairs, 
knowing the king's deep and unalterable attach- 
ment to the cause of reform, deemed it better 
policy not to meddle with Church matters too 
much, or to seek to sta}^ the onward progress of 
the truth in its purity and integrity. His views 
were wholly worldly, and he was little inclined 
to that course which would have demanded a 
giving up of Church property to its rightful 
owners, since in fact he was one of the greatest 
and most scandalous church-robbers of his daj^. 
Whatever Somerset's faults may have been — 
and they were not a few, as we have before said 
— he was sincerely attached to the Reformation, 



128 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

and manifested, when in prison, that the graces 
of the Christian character had not been planted 
in a sterile soil. It is certainly no honor to Ed- 
ward's reign that his uncle perished in this 
manner. 

During the reign of Henry VIII. the archbishop 
had thought much upon a project for the refor- 
mation of the laws of the Church, which, on 
various accounts, needed entire and thorough 
revision : but Henry, through the artifices of Gar- 
diner and others, did not give it his cordial ap- 
proval, so that nothing of consequence was done 
while he lived. Shortly after Edward came to 
the throne, the plan was revived under better 
auspices; eight commissioners were appointed to 
examine the ancient canons of the Church and 
to prepare a code which might be suitable to the 
wants of the ecclesiastical courts, and to the 
general good order and discipline of the Church. 
Cranmer, who was at the head of the commis- 
sion, labored diligently in this difficult and im- 
portant undertaking, but unhappily the early death 
of Edward prevented the final completion and 
establishment of a requisite body of laws for the 
Church of England. In the reign of Elizabeth, 
in 1571, the work, as arranged by the archbishop, 
was published under the title of Reformatio Le- 



close of edward's reign. 129 

gum Ecclesiasticarum, It has, however, no bind- 
ing authority in the Church. 

In the parliament of this year, (1552,) several 
bills of importance to the Church received its 
sanction. One confirmed the changes made in 
the revision of the Prayer Book, and directed, 
that attendance on the new service should be en- 
forced, under severe censures ; a second settled 
the observance of the holy-days retained in the 
Calendar ; a third declared that the marriage of 
the clergy was legal to all intents and purposes, 
an act which was required to enable the children 
of clergymen to inherit according to law, they 
having heretofore, through the strong prejudices 
of the people, been considered illegitimate. In 
the convocation of the present year, the clergy 
agreed to the Articles. 

In bringing to a close, the history of the Re- 
formation during the reign of Edward VI., there 
are two things which cannot but strike the mind 
of the reader most forcibly, and cause him sad 
and sorrowful reflections. The one is the dread- 
ful licentiousness of opinion and practice, and the 
strange obliquity of moral perception, every where 
prevalent, notwithstanding all the efforts of the 
Reformers, and the faithful preaching of the 
. Gospel by a large body of the clergy. The other 
7 



130 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

is the mysterious, but, as we see, wise dispensa- 
tions of divine Providence, in removing the 
young king, and bringing upon the Church and 
nation the hour of fiery trials. A little reflection 
will show the justice of these remarks. 

When popery was overthrown in England, so 
great and so extensive was the shock, that so- 
ciety was agitated to its very centre, and men's 
minds seemed to be given over to every form and 
species of extravagance and fanaticism. The 
spirit of evil had been let loose, and raged wildly 
through the land : covetousness, ungodly irre- 
verence, and shocking levity and profanity, all 
were in full vigor : luxury and wickedness, 
crimes of all descriptions, and unheard of abomi- 
nations were, alas, too common among those who 
knew better and should have set a better ex- 
ample to the people. Freedom from the tyranny 
of popish exactions was interpreted as giving 
liberty for any and all extravagances : men who 
loved pleasure were rejoiced at the prospect of 
going to all lengths without fear or hindrance : 
some, who wished to do right, but who had more 
zeal than knowledge, were eager to tear down 
and root up every thing which in any wise had 
been in use among the papists, no matter how 
venerable and excellent it might be. The un- 



EVILS OF THE REFORMATION. 131 

godly spoilers and robbers of the Church's pro- 
perty, grasped the wealth on which they could 
lay hands, and cared for nothing but how they 
might fill their coffers with money. Their halls 
were hung with altar cloths ; their tables and 
beds were covered with copes instead of carpets 
and coverlets : chalices were used for carousing 
cups, at the tables of the bolder plunderers, and 
horses were watered in the stone and marble cof- 
fins of the dead ; — sohorrible and so wide spread 
was the destruction of churches throughout Eng- 
land. Somerset pulled down churches and chap- 
els, and violated the graves of the dead, to make 
room and supply materials for his lordly palace, 
and monopolized to himself a deanery, treasurer- 
ship of a cathedral, prebends, and other ecclesi- 
astical revenues. Tombs were stripped of their 
monumental brasses ; churches of their lead ; and 
bells in immense numbers, were exported to be 
cast into cannon. . " Who can call to mind, with- 
out grief and indignation, how many magnificent 
edifices were overthrown in this undistinguishing 
havoc ! Malmsbury, Battle, Waltham, Mal- 
vern, Lantony, Rivaux, Fountains, Whalley, 
Kirkstall, Tintern, Tavistock, and so many 
others, the noblest works of architecture, 
and the most venerable monuments' of antiquity, 



132 



REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 



each the blessing of the surrounding country, and 
collectively the glory of the land ! Glastonbury, 
which was most venerable of all, even less for its 
undoubted age than for the circumstances con- 
nected with its history, and which in beauty and 
sublimity of structure, was equalled by few, sur- 
passed by none, was converted by Somerset, af- 
ter it had been stript and dilapidated, into a ma- 
nufactory, where refugee weavers, chiefly French 
and Walloons, were to set up their trade !"* 
Finally, the destruction of the manuscripts in the 
libraries of the monasteries, was so grievous and 
so general, as to make one groan and weep. Eng- 
land' s most noble antiquities were ruined ; the 
most valuable books and manuscripts were sold 
to chandlers and grocers for waste paper ; whole 
ship loads were sent abroad to foreign bookbind- 
ers, that the vellum or parchment might be used 
in their trade. Thus English history sustained 
irreparable losses, and literature received a blow 
from the effects of which it has never recovered. 
Are we not right in saying that such things as 
these cause us sad and sorrowful reflections? 
who can restrain himself from exclamations of 
indignation and regret ? Well is it that we can 



* Southey's Book of the Church, chap. xiii. 



EDWARDS DEATH. 133 

turn from so dreadful a scene to contemplate a 
while the other of the two things to which we 
wish to call attention : well is it that we should 
look upon that which moves us to grief 5 and 
ought to make us bow in humble submission to 
the righteous dispensations of Almighty God. 

The noble young king, whose reign seemed to 
hold out promise of so much good to the Church, 
early showed signs of decaying health, and was 
not spared long to bless the world with his pre^- 
sence. He had never been rugged, and of late 
it became but too evident that his strength was 
failing rapidly. In his last sickness the Christian 
graces, for which his whole life had been remark- 
able, shone w T ith brighter lustre than ever : and 
after gratifying his pious soul with several muni- 
ficent charities, suggested by Ridley, he breathed 
forth his spirit in prayer for the good of the 
Church and the welfare of his people. The 
mournful event occurred at Greenwich, on the 
6th of July, 1553, he being in the sixteenth year 
of his age and the seventh of his reign. 

Of his character, there is and can be but one 
sentiment expressed. It was every thing that 
was lovely, every thing that was noble, every 
thing that was of good report. His talents were 
of a high order, his learning far beyond the 



134 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

average standing of youths of his own age, and 
his virtues so great as to call forth the admiration 
of all who saw or knew him. " No pen," says 
Fuller, " passeth by him without praising him, 
though none praising him to his full deserts." 

When every thing seemed, so far as we can 
see, so admirably fitted for a long, prosperous 
and useful reign, when the prospects of advantage 
to the state and the Church were so great and so 
manifold, while a prince of Edward's temper 
and qualifications sat on the throne, how myste- 
rious do the ways of God appear, and how un- 
searchable His judgments ! It pleased Him not 
to spare the pious Edward ; it was not His will 
that His Church should escape tribulation ; and 
as the sun of England's Josiah set in glory which 
is not of this world, the dark and ominous clouds 
of trial arose and overshadowed the land, making 
the stoutest hearts to tremble, and the timid to 
quake with fear. Well might the Reformers 
exclaim against the wickedness which so greatly 
abounded, and count it a direct judgment from 
heaven that the pious young king was taken 
away ; well might they nerve their souls for the 
fiery trials which were near at hand : the papal 
party, with Gardiner as their leader and exem- 
plar, had bided the time ; they were waiting for 






POPERY TRIUMPHANT. 135 

the day of vengeance, when they might sate 
their wrath with the blood of their hated oppo- 
nents ; that day was at hand, and popery was 
again triumphant. 



CHAPTER VII. 



a.d. 1553—1555. 

Lady Jane Grey — her character — manner in which she was ele- 
vated to the throne — eleven days queen — Mary mounts the 
throne — Jane beheaded — promised toleration — duplicity of the 
queen — course determined on — indecent haste in restoring popish 
practices — Hooper imprisoned — Cranmer sent to the tower— pri- 
sons soon crowded with Reformers — their courage and constancy 
- — Commendone, papal emissary in England — doings in parlia- 
ment — Spanish match greatly disliked — Gardiner opposes it — 
Philip's character — result — marriage takes place — convocation 
meets — its acts — public discussions — unfairness — popish taunt — 
—Romish bishop appointed — Cranmer, Ridley, Latimer borne 
down by clamor and abuse — re-action — respite for a while — Eli- 
zabeth saved by Philip — Cardinal Pole, papal legate — absolves 
the nation — queen's sacrifices — persecuting statutes revived — 
Pole's feelings — policy resolved upon. 

There is no sadder story in the history of these 
troublous times than that of the ill-fated Lady 
Jane Grey. Possessed of every virtue, highly 



LADY JANE GREY. 137 

accomplished, and learned far beyond the stand- 
ard usually allowed to her sex, having no ambi- 
tion to shine any where but in the sphere properly 
belonging to her, she was yet, through the crimi- 
nal ambition of her father-in-law, the duke of 
Northumberland, involved in difficulties, and 
placed in such a position as soon led to complete 
overthrow of all her prospects of life and happi- 
ness, and the death of herself and her husband 
on the scaffold. It is impossible not to pity so 
gentle, so lovely and so innocent a victim : it is 
equally impossible not to admire the more than 
human courage and constancy with which she 
went thiough her last bitter trial. 

The causes which led to her untimely death 
were briefly these : — Edward VI., deeply anxious 
for die cause of the Reformation, and well know- 
ing that his sister Mary was wedded to popish 
superstitions and errors, and obstinately bent on 
adhering to them, in his last sickness took a step 
which he no doubt thought fight, but w r hich, 
being unsanctioned by law, was really "wrong. 
Induced mainly by the wicked and ambitious 
duke of Northumberland, he drew up a will, by 
which were set aside the princessess Mary and 
Elizabeth, the next legal heirs to the throne, and 
the crown was bestowed on Laxly Jane Grey, 



138 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

the daughter-in-law of Northumberland, and the 
grand-daughter of Mary, sister of Henry VIII. 
The judges and the members of the privy council 
at first positively refused to accede to this request 
of Edward's, but after earnest entreaties, and in 
obedience to his express commands, they signed 
the will, and agreed to support it, all except Sir 
James Hales and archbishop Cranmer : the latter 
was, however, ultimately prevailed upon to join 
with the rest of the council — an act which he 
soon after had cause bitterly to repent. Jane, 
with manifest and strong reluctance, and with 
almost entire unconcern on the part of the people, 
was proclaimed, July 9th, 1553 ; and the next 
day, Ridley preached at St. Paul's Cross in her 
behalf. 

It was only a few days afterwards that Mary, 
finding the voice of the people in her favor, and 
her forces augmenting rapidly, came towards 
London, and Jane, having reigned but eleven 
days, most gladly laid down the burden of a 
crown. Mary entered London on the third of 
August, und was soon quietly seated on her 
father's throne. Jane was committed to the 
tower on the charge of high treason, and early 
the next year, when a plausible pretext was 
offered, was beheaded on the scaffold. She was 



FIRST ACTS OF MARY, 139 

only in her seventeenth year when this event 
occurred, and her lot has been universally de- 
plored.* 1 

Among the very first acts of the new queen, 
was a declaration setting forth that she did not 
intend to compel the consciences of her people, 
and that toleration on the subject of religion 
should be allowed. We are sorry to say, that 
very little of this was sincerely meant, for only 
two days afterwards, she added a condition, viz., 
" until such time as further order, by common 
consent, may be taken therein;' 9 that is, she 
would refrain from compulsion until, by law, she 
could give her subjects the choice of popery or 
death. 

Ere long, it became perfectly evident that 
Mary and her advisers had determined upon a 
course of severity and sharpness, by which, as 

* The history of tyranny affords no example of a female of se- 
venteen, by the command of a female, and a relation, put to death 
for acquiescence in the injunction of a father, sanctioned by the 
concurrence of all that the kingdom could boast of as illustrious in 
nobility, or grave in law, or venerable in religion. The example is 
the more affecting, as it is that of a person who exhibited a match- 
less union of youth and beauty with genius, with learning, with 
virtue, with piety ; whose affections were so warm, while her pas- 
sions were so perfectly subdued. It was a death sufficient to honor 
and dishonor an age. — Sir James Mackintosh's History of Eng- 
land, chap. xv. 



140 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

they hoped, the Reformation would be crushed 
entirely, and popery re-established in England. 
Gardiner was taken out of prison immediately on 
Mary's accession, and made lord chancellor ; the 
Romish bishops were restored m r the notorious 
Bonner took possession of the see of London, two 
days after Mary entered the city ; the mass was 
said in many places, though entirely contrary to 
law ; the preaching of the reformed clergy was 
restrained by an order in council, and a commis- 
sion was appointed, Gardiner and Bonner being 
two of them, to degrade and imprison the sup- 
porters of the Reformation among the clergy, on 
the threefold charge of treason, heresy, and 
matrimony. 

On the first of September, Hooper was im- 
prisoned, and about the middle of the same 
month Cranmer was sent to the tower on the 
charge of high treason, both because he had 
joined with the rest of the council in the attempt 
to set aside Mary and put Lady Jane Grey on 
the throne, and because he had indignantly, and 
in strong terms, denied the story which was put 
in circulation, that the mass had been introduced 
by his direction, and with his consent, into Can- 
terbury cathedral, affirming that it was a " false, 
flattering, lying and dissembling monk," who 



REFORMERS IN PRISON. 141 

had done thus. Nay, he went so far as to offer 
publicly to prove the folly of the mass, and the 
soundness of the Liturgy of Edward VI. Most 
of the other distinguished leaders, including bi- 
shops and doctors, and a host of others, soon 
found their way into prison, where they were 
treated with brutal indignity, subjected to all the 
insults and hardships which malicious meanness 
could invent, deprived of common comforts, of 
books, of intercourse with friends, and made to 
feel, day by day, that the stake and the fiery 
flame were all that they could look forward to. 

The prisons were soon crowded with victims. 
Ridley, Latimer, John Rogers, Rowland Taylor, 
Bradford, and others of less note among the 
Reformers, were confined and harshly treated, 
in order, it seems, to break down their spirits by 
bodily suffering, and in some evil moment to 
prevail upon them to recant; but all in vain. 
They stirred up one another to do manfully for 
the truth ; incessant prayer brought down new 
supplies of grace ; their courage rose as their 
persecution became sharper ; and the fire had no 
terrors which could shake the unconquerable 
energy and constancy of the noble army of mar- 
tyrs, who, during this bloody reign, laid down 



142 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

their lives for the truth of the principles of the 
Gospel and the Prayer Book. 

Heavy though the task may be, and is, to 
record these things; much as our bosoms may 
and must burn with hatred against the devilish 
spirit of barbarity, torture and cruelty, almost 
every where displayed ; still our hearts glow 
within us, as we read of the courage and con- 
stancy of the martyred bishops and doctors of 
the Church ; our souls seem to acquire additional 
strength to persevere and fight the good fight of 
faith, as becomes professors of the same truth 
which these went so joyfully to the stake to 
maintain. It is with regret that we find that our 
limits will allow only a brief notice of these 
martyrdoms. Strype's Lives, and Ecclesiastical 
Memorials, Fox's Book of Martyrs, Southey's 
Book of the Church, Wordsworth's Ecclesiastical 
Biography, and the larger histories of the Refor- 
mation, may be turned to by those who have 
time and wish to know all that is recorded on 
this subject. 

Very soon after Mary's elevation to the throne, 
a papal emissary, named Commendone, obtained 
access to her, and both inflamed her native bi- 
gotry and hinted to her the advantage it would 



ACTS OF PARLIAMENT. 143 

be to form a matrimonial alliance with Philip, son 
of the emperor, Charles V. On his way to 
Rome, Commendone called on cardinal Pole, 
who had been declared a traitor in Henry's reign, 
and therefore dared not to set foot in England so 
long as the bill of attainder stood unrepealed. 
Mary was very anxious to receive Pole immedi- 
ately as papal legate, but this could not be done 
till parliament repealed the law forbidding any 
legate of the pope to land in England, and till he 
himself was released from danger of punishment 
for his treasonable practices. Consequently, Pole 
had to wait, and even Gardiner strongly advised 
Mary not to be too hasty in this matter. 

Parliament met in October, 1553. Several 
acts were passed, among which, were those re- 
pealing every thing done in Edward's reign re- 
lating to religion, and restoring matters to the 
condition in which they were left at the death of 
Henry VIII. An act also was passed sanction- 
ing the queen's restoring the old service. In 
truth, parliament was willing to do almost any 
thing the queen required on the subject of re- 
ligion and politics ; but they had a fixed dislike 
— and in this they represented the sense of the 
English nation — to the project just alluded to, of 
a match between the queen and Philip of Spain. 



144 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

It deserves to be related, to the credit of Gardi- 
ner, of whom we can very rarely speak in terms 
of praise, that he opposed this Spanish alliance 
with all his ability, and even to his own risk, and 
when he could not succeed in breaking it off, he 
managed to obtain the most favorable terms for 
England. Not only on the ground of patriotism, 
but on others, this match was opposed heartily, 
even by the popish party. Philip was known to 
have the vices of his nation, and few, if any, of 
its redeeming and noble qualities : though he em- 
ployed his gold most lavishly, in purchasing good 
opinions, still it was felt, that he was dark, bi- 
gotted, vindictive and cunning, and in every way 
unsuited to the English race, who love openness 
and candor, and who would far sooner endure the 
yoke of such a bold, reckless despot as Henry 
VIII., than submit to the much less extensive ty- 
ranny of such an one as Philip the Spaniard. 

It mattered little to Mary, whether the people 
liked the match or not ; she had a due proportion 
of her father's iron will, and notwithstanding a 
serious rebellion was excited by this Spanish 
match ; notwithstanding the general, almost uni- 
versal dislike of the nation to the alliance, she 
made up her mind to the marriage, and it was 
consummated, July, 25th, 1554. Mary was at 



PUBLIC DISCUSSIONS. 145 

this time thirty-nine years of age, and Philip, her 
husband, twenty-seven. 

The convocation met at the same time with 
parliament. Most of the members (having been 
chosen with this view,) were in favor of the po- 
pish doctrines, and only six could be found bold 
enough to be willing to stand up manfully and con- 
tend for the truth of the principles of the Refor- 
mation. By the first act of the convocation, the 
Prayer Book was denominated an abominable 
book, and declared to be heretical, because it 
denied transubstantiation. The catechism shared 
the same fate. The discussions in public were 
very warm and earnest, and as might be expect- 
ed, the matter was decided by force of numbers 
rather than by strength of argument. So little 
fairness was shown towards the Reformers, that 
they were borne down by clamor and indecent 
shouting and railing, till at last, after three days 
endurance of the storm, they yielded in despair 
of obtaining a fair hearing. Weston, dean of 
Westminster, the prolocutor, summed up with a 
brutal taunt ; for when the Reformers, declaring 
that the Scriptures were in their favor, exclaimed 
— " we have the Word;" — " yes," was the reply, 
" but we have the sword" Most keenly was it 



146 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

soon felt, that the sword of persecution was un- 
sheathed, and the scabbard cast away. 

In 1554, the bishops were enjoined to enforce 
tibe canons against heretics, and for the removal 
of married clergy from their preferments. Seve- 
ral thousands of the clergy were thus harshly de- 
prived, amongst whom were the archbishop of 
York, and the bishops of Bristol, Chester and St. 
David's. Three other bishops were degraded on 
the charge of heresy ; so that there were now 
sixteen sees vacant, which were immediately 
filled by zealous partisans of Romanism. 

About the middle of April, the queen, r by the 
advice of Gardiner, determined upon having a 
public disputation at Oxford, at which the chief 
of the Reformers should be obliged to attend, and 
under the show of discussion, the cause of popery 
be triumphantly established. Accordingly, the 
archbishop, Ridley and Latimer, who had all, to 
throw indignity upon them, been thrust into the 
same room in the common prison,* along with 
Bradford, the martyr, were brought forth to un- 
dergo an ordeal, in many respects, more severe 






* " Bocardo, is a stinking, filthy prison for drunkards and harlots, 
and the vilest sort of people." — Bishop Ridley, Letter to Bradford, 



GROSS UNFAIRNESS. 147 

even than that of the stake. The disputation was 
respecting these three points : — 1. Whether the 
natural body of Christ be really in the sacra- 
ment ? 2. Whether any other substance remain, 
after the words of consecration, than the body of 
Christ ? 3. Whether in the mass there be a sa- 
crifice and propitiation for the sins of the quick 
and dead ? They were not allowed either time, 
books or friendly intercourse, or any thing else 
which could enable them to prepare to enter upon 
so weighty a discussion. 

Cranmer, as being the acknowledged head of 
the Reformers, was brought forth first; and dur- 
ing the long, weary hours, from eight in the morn- 
ing till two in the afternoon, this venerable divine, 
this meek, sensitive, tender-hearted old man, was 
brow-beaten, reviled, and insulted by foul- 
mouthed and ignorant men, hissed at and clam- 
ored against by the prejudiced and blinded as- 
semblage. His learning and ability were of no 
service, at such a time and before such an au- 
dience ; for even if they had allowed him to be 
heard, it would not have changed the result ; they 
had already made up their minds to convict him 
and claim a victory. 

The next day Ridley appeared before the com- 
missioners. He was in the prime of his years 



148 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

and the full vigor of his faculties ; and although 
he was compelled to bear with the same indecent 
usage as that shown to the archbishop, he never- 
theless made a glorious defence of the principles 
of the Reformation, and equally astonished and 
confounded his opponents, by the depth and 
wonderful variety of his learning, by his thorough 
knowledge of all the points in dispute, and by 
his noble bearing under contumely and insult. 

The third day witnessed a scene far more 
distressing. Good old Hugh Latimer, bending 
under the weight of fourscore 3 T ears, broken 
down by age and infirmity, and actually sick at 
the time, was led out to undergo his share of the 
bitter pains and bufferings in store for the Refor- 
mers. He refused utterly to attempt to dispute, 
and having handed in a paper expressing in short 
his views on the topics before them, he made an 
appeal to the prolocutor, which one would think 
would have softened the stoniest heart: " Good 
master, I pray be good to an old man ; you may, 
if it please God, be once as old as I am ; you 
may even come to this age and debility ; " but 
all in vain: taunts, hisses, laughter, and such 
like were the reply which these mad and brutal 
fanatics made to so affecting, so touching an ap- 
peal. May God forgive us if we be wrong, but 



MALICE DEFEATED. 149 

we can never read of this scene without a burst 
of indignation. 

In the present case, as in many others, malice 
overreached itself. The very violence and fierce- 
ness of the attack on the one hand, backed by all 
the power of the crown, and the patient, firm, 
Christian endurance on the other, though the 
tortures and the fire were in full view as the sure 
result, caused a reaction in the minds of the more 
sober of the popish party, and nerved many a 
trembling heart to bear all things for the sake 
of the truth. It was surprising — especially so 
to the worldly wise — how the courage of the 
Reformers rose, and how their hearts revived at 
the example of these great and good bishops. 
And the manifest injustice of their condemnation, 
which was paraded forth with all the show which 
it was possible to give it, disgusted many, and 
led them to doubt whether a cause could be good 
which required such measures to uphold it. 

The marriage of the queen produced a short 
respite for those who had offended the vindictive 
princess ; and it deserves to be recorded to the 
credit of Philip — be his motive what it may — 
that he interfered and saved the princess Eliza- 
beth from an ignominious end, which her own 
sister had marked out for her. Still, there was 



150 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

no stopping, in the onward course toward Rome ; 
nay, rather, there was indecent haste to restore 
the customs, practices and tenets of popery. 
Cardinal Pole, at the earliest moment, came to 
England as the pope's legate, and at the request 
of parliament and the convocation, he formally 
absolved the nation, and received it once more 
into the bosom of the self-styled " mother and 
mistress of all Churches." All the acts of late 
years against the Roman see were repealed, and 
every thing was restored to its former condition, 
except in respect to one important point, viz., 
that of the church lands. So many had been 
concerned in the spoil and robbery of the Church's 
property, that it was quite useless to expect them 
to give up their ill-gotten wealth. So the matter 
was not pressed. The queen alone — to her honor 
be it recorded — restored to the Church all the 
lands which were at the royal disposal, and dis- 
charged the clergy from the payment of first fruits 
and tenths. If it had been demanded, absolutely, 
that every thing should be given up, it is quite 
certain that popery never could have gone a step 
further, and not even the tremendous power of 
the crown could have forced so unpalatable a 
measure upon those who had shared in the spoils 
of the monasteries and churches. The severe 



CARDINAL POLE. 151 

statutes against the Lollards (followers of John 
Wickliffe) and other heretics, as they were term- 
ed, were also re-enacted. They had been re- 
pealed in 1547. These acts, and some additional 
ones of the same character, strengthened the 
hands of those in power, and gave legal sanction 
to the savage persecution which the next year 
raged throughout England. 

We may here, injustice to cardinal Pole, make 
mention of the honorable fact, that he strongly 
disapproved of the extreme measures which were 
in progress. His natural feelings of humanity 
and mercy revolted at the needless cruelties about 
to be practised, and his good sense told him that 
this was no way to bring men back to the belief 
in the excellence and Christian graces of the 
papal system. His advice, however, was re- 
jected, and the acute Gardiner joined with the 
brutal Bonner, in recommending a course which 
brought disgrace and odium upon all concerned 
in it, and which, as we shall see, resulted far 
differently from what was expected. The im- 
portant events of the following years of Mary's 
reign, rightly demand a separate chapter to be 
devoted to their consideration. 



CHAPTER VHIe 



a. d. 1555—1558. 

Year 1555 memorable — persecution set on foot— John Rogers pro- 
to-martyr — Laurence Saunders — bishop Hooper martyred at 
Gloucester — Rowland Taylor burnt — his character — papists dis- 
appointed — Ferrar, Bradford, Philpott and others burnt — number 
of the martyrs during Mary's reign — bishops Ridley and Lati- 
mer burnt at Oxford — their characters — Latimer's last words— 
Cranmer reserved a while — cited to appear before the pope — 
condemned for contumacy — degraded by Bonner and Thirlby — 
Cranmer's recantations — how obtained — duplicity of the queen 
and court — malice overshooting the mark — the archbishop re- 
tracts his recantation — scene in St. Mary's church, Oxford— 
Cranmer burnt — Pole made archbishop — his character — persecu- 
tion unabated — effect of this — universities visited — doings of the 
visitors — Calais taken — unpopularity of the government — Mary's 
death — Pole's death — character of Mary. 

The year 1555 is memorable in the annals of the 
Reformation. It has left a blot upon the charac- 
ter of Mary, which no time can efface, and no ef- 



ROGERS PROTO-MARTYR. 153 

forts of apologists ever remove ; and it will serve 
to the latest days, as a marvellous and bloody 
proof of what popery is capable, when fully car- 
ried out. If it serve not also to set forth the 
" detestable enormities" of tyranny and outrage 
of which Rome has been guilty ; and if it serve 
not to warn us against the fatal delusions of a sys- 
tem which is never changed, and boasts that it 
never will be, then the voice of history is uttered 
in vain, and our humble labors are thrown away. 

By advice of Gardiner, whom the remem- 
brance of hardships in Edward's reign had not 
tended to soften or render merciful, the course of 
severity was adopted, and such persecution was 
set on foot as disgraced the whole popish party, 
even in their own eyes, and rendered the govern- 
ment unpopular to an extreme. We can only 
briefly note the horrors of this eventful and bloody 
year. 

The first martyr who was brought to the stake 
for denying transubstantiation, was John Rogers, 
at the time a prebendary of St. Paul's. He had 
been educated at Cambridge, and afterwards be- 
came chaplain of the English factory at Antwerp, 
and also aided Tindal and Coverdale in trans- 
lating the Bible, (known as Matthew's Bible.) 
While abroad, he married, and was blessed with 
8 



154 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

a large family, which he brought with him to 
England, when Edward's accession rendered it 
safe for married priests to reside in their own 
country. Ridley gave him a prebendal stall in 
St. Paul's, and a divinity lectureship in that ca- 
thedral. He was among the first apprehended 
when Mary came to the throne, and steadily main- 
taining the truth, he was condemned to the flames, 
after more than a year's imprisonment, among 
the common filth of Newgate. Gardiner and 
Bonner, with characteristic brutality, refused to 
let Rogers see or speak to his wife and family, 
so that as he was on his way to Smithfield's fire 
and torture, the heart-rending spectacle was wit- 
nessed of a mother with an infant at the breast, 
and ten weeping children come out to obtain the 
last blessing of a husband and father. Bravely 
did Rogers bear himself through this sore trial, 
nobly did he spurn the offer of life if he would 
recant, and, as it were, washing his hands in the 
flames, he met death, calmly, resolutely, glori- 
ously. This was on the 4th of February. 

The second martyr was Laurence Saunders, 
also educated at Cambridge, and passionately de- 
voted to learning. In Edward's reign, he mar- 
ried and obtained preferment in the Church. He 
was so zealous and active in the discharge of the 



SAUNDERS AND HOOPER. 155 

duties of his sacred office, that he was early 
marked out as a victim. Bonner demanded his 
opinion of transubstantiation. He gave it, with- 
out hesitation, in writing, saying, at the same 
time,— " my lord, ye do seek my blood, and ye 
shall have it. I pra}^ God, that ye may be so 
baptized in it, that ye may hereafter loathe blood- 
sucking, and become a better man!" He was 
cast into prison, kept there for fifteen months, not 
allowed to see his wife, and at last, on the 8th 
of February, was sent to the stake at Coventry. 
He died as he had lived, earnest, zealous, faith- 
ful, fall of hope and peace. 

On the next day, Hooper was ordered to Glou- 
cester to undergo the same fearful trial. Ever 
since Mary's accession, he had looked forward to 
this last scene as the almost certain end of his 
career. Nor was he disappointed. His trial 
was like that of the other martyrs ; neither mer- 
cy nor kindness found place in the bosoms of his 
persecutors, and he was abused in the most in- 
decent manner because he had been married. 
After having been treated with shameless bar- 
barity in prison, exposed to dampness and foul 
air, so that he well nigh escaped, by death, the 
torture of the stake, he was brought forth, de- 
graded at the same time with Rogers, and led 



156 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

out to execution. It was meant as an additional 
cruelly, the sending him to the place where he had 
labored so faithfully, but in truth, it was really- 
thought kindness by Hooper. He rejoiced to 
bear testimony among his own people, even unto 
death, of the truth of what he had taught them. 
It was a market day on which he suffered, and 
about seven thousand persons were present. 
Many a one was glad and took courage at the sight 
of the constancy of this noble martyr, who, 
though he lingered in the midst of agony for three 
quarters of an hour ere death came, only cried 
aloud, "Lord Jesus, have mercy upon me!" 
and with a patience worthy the man of God, 
passed through the flames unto his eternal re- 
ward. O, who can tell what glory opened upon 
his view in the paradise of God ! 

The very same day — the notable 9th of Fe- 
bruary — Rowland Taylor, the illustrious pro- 
genitor of the still more illustrious Jeremy Tay- 
lor, laid down his life for the cause of divine 
truth. His life and ministry form one of the most 
interesting and touching pieces of biography 
which can be found any where, and we beg our 
readers, if they possibly can, to turn to the pages 
of good old John Fox's Book of Martyrs, and 
read in full, what we can only now briefly relate. 



ROWLAND TAYLOR. 157 

Taylor was a bold, fearless, frank, open- 
hearted, liberal-minded man ; not more remarka- 
ble for his wit and pleasantry, than for his ardent 
piety and devotion ; and not more humble before 
God than courageous before man. He had been 
chaplain in Cranmer's household, but when ap- 
pointed to the parish of Hadley, in Suffolk, he 
immediately devoted himself to the special du- 
ties of the priestly office, and so successful was 
he, that, by God's grace, his people were well 
taught in the Holy Scriptures, and eminent for 
piety and consistency of life. 

Gardiner, as usual, resorted to foul-mouthed 
abuse, when Taylor was brought before him, 
charging it against him as a crime, that he- was 
married. " I thank God, I am," was his reply, 
"and have had nine children." He was con- 
demned to die, and having been degraded by 
the brutal Bonner, with uncalled-for harshness 
and insolent bitterness, he was brought out of 
prison, where he had lain nearly two years, and 
sent to the stake. None of the martyrs had more 
sympathy shown towards him than Taylor, none 
seems to have been more beloved of the people, 
and none — sad is it to say — was treated with 
so much brutality and cruelty as the parson of 
Hadley, by those who attended to his execution. 



158 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

While at the stake, a fellow threw a faggot which 
cut his face so that the blood ran down, and 
shortly after, another suddenly smote him on the 
skull with a halberd, and the body fell forward 
in death. Such was the end of the mortal career 
of this valiant man of God. 

Grievous was the disappointment of the popish 
party at the effect of these blood-thirsty proceed- 
ings. They supposed that such a course would 
have stricken terror into the Reformers, and 
crushed the spirit of the opponents of Romish 
corruptions ; but it turned out far otherwise. 
The Reformers grew strong through suffering : 
the people were forcibly struck with the sight of 
their courage, constancy, and ardent piety; and 
the outrageous tyranny which condemned the 
learned, eloquent and noble preachers of the 
truth to death on the most frivolous charges, filled 
the whole community with amazement, indigna- 
tion, and disgust. Gardiner and his savage 
abettors, mortified and confounded, stayed their 
hands a while, not well knowing what to do. A 
few weeks' respite only was granted, and the fires 
were kindled anew, to burn with increased fury. 

"We have neither space nor inclination to dwell 
upon the details of these enormities, and we 
could not, were we so disposed, adequately de- 



NUMBER OF THE MARTYRS. 159 

scribe the horrors of these bloody days. An evil 
spirit of savage barbarity and headlong thirsting 
for slaughter, seemed to pervade the papal party, 
and, with Bonner at the head, they stuck at 
nothing so that they might wreak their vengeance 
on the Reformers. Ferrar, bishop of St. David's, 
Bradford, prebendary of St. Paul's, Philpott, 
archdeacon of Winchester, and many others, 
both clergy and laity, in the upper and lower 
walks of life, were brought to the stake during 
this year : neither learning nor ignorance availed, 
since, indiscriminately, the well-learned and the 
deplorably ignorant were consigned to the flames, 
on the same charges. 

It may seem almost incredible, but it is never- 
theless true, that during the first ten months of 
the year, 1555, no less than seventy-two persons 
of all ranks, ages, and of both sexes, were burned 
at the stake, because they denied papal infalli- 
bility, and refused to believe in the dogma of 
transubstantiation. It may also be mentioned 
here, that this was the average number of mar- 
tyrdoms during each year of Mary's reign ; so 
that from February, 1555, to September, 1558, 
according to the statement of lord Burleigh, two 
hundred and ninety persons were burned alive, 
and nearly a hundred more died by imprison- 



160 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

ment, cruel usage and famine. A most dreadful 
catalogue ! who can imagine that to be the re- 
ligion of the blessed and compassionate Saviour, 
who " went about doing good," when such were 
its fruits ? May God in His mercy deliver His 
Church from popish usurpation and tyranny ! 

In October of this year, Ridley and Latimer, 
the intimate friends and most efficient supporters 
of Cranmer, were doomed to the fiery trial 
through which so many had to pass. Ridley 
was well-born, being of a good stock in North- 
umberland. His reputation as a scholar was 
very high, and he was master of Pembroke col- 
lege, Cambridge, where he was greatly beloved. 
Henry raised him to the bishopric of Rochester, 
and Edward translated him to the see of London. 
Few equalled him in learning, none excelled him 
in sagacity ; his kindliness of heart, and his en- 
larged liberality were beyond all praise, and his 
powerful influence in setting forward the Refor- 
mation was felt throughout the whole realm. 

Latimer was of more humble origin and pos- 
sessed of qualities which fitted him for laboring 
more especially among the people, with whom 
he was deservedly a great favorite. Of respect- 
able acquirements and great natural shrewdness, 
and power of address, he was very successful in 



RIDLEY AND LATIMER. 161 

spreading abroad the doctrines of the Reforma- 
tion, and was a valuable assistant to the arch- 
bishop. Henry elevated him to the see of Ro- 
chester, which Latimer resigned when the odious 
act of the Six Articles was passed, and when 
afterwards he might have taken his bishopric 
again, he declined, and spent the rest of his 
time with Cranmer at Lambeth. 

The place of execution was at Oxford ; after 
suffering every kind of indignity and insult, they 
were brought to the stake ; bravely did they 
comfort one another and pray together, ere the 
fire came at them. The words of Latimer at 
the moment a lighted faggot was thrown at his 
feet, are memorable and well nigh prophetic : — 
" Be of good comfort, master Ridley, and play 
the man ; we shall this day light such a candle, 
by God's grace, in England, as I trust shall 
never be put out." The venerable old man suf- 
fered but a short time, but Ridley's tortures and 
agony were horrible and long continued. At 
last relief came, and his soul sped away to join 
the noble army of martyrs awaiting him in the 
mansions of bliss. May it be our lot to stand at 
his side in the last great day of account ! 

It was a very subtle stroke of policy — whether 
so intended or not — on the part of those who 
8* 



162 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

managed this dreadful persecution, not to bring 
the venerable archbishop to the stake at the 
same time with Ridley and Latimer. Their 
courage and constancy would have aided in 
strengthening and supporting him in the hour of 
trial and torture, and his sun would have set in 
glory unclouded, and his fair fame been unsullied 
by a single stain ; but, alas ! this was not per- 
mitted; such arts were used, such despicable 
treachery employed, as ensnared the aged ser- 
vant of God, and he fell from his steadfastness 
May we learn a lesson from this instructive page 
in history ! 

Ridley and Latimer, as above stated, suffered 
at the stake, October 16th, 1555 ; but Cranmer 
was retained in prison. Being archbishop and 
primate of all England, he had been cited to 
appear at Rome before the pope within eighty 
days, which he was very ready to do, but his 
jailors took good care that he should not pass his 
prison doors ; and, absurd as it may appear, 
when the eighty days had elapsed, he was 
gravely condemned for contumacy in not answer- 
ing the summons of the pope ! Immediately 
after, on the 4th of December, he was sentenced 
to excommunication, deprived of the archbish- 
opric, and cardinal Pole put in charge of the see 



CRANMER S RECANTATION. 163 

of Canterbury ; and on the 14th of February, 
1556, he was degraded by the papal delegates, 
Bonner and Thirlby, and treated with most 
cruel insolence by Bonner, whose churlish spirit 
seemed to revel in such scenes as this. 

The succeeding history relating to Cranmer's 
fall and the recantations which he signed, 
is not a little intricate and perplexing, and the 
whole transaction is involved in so great mystery, 
that it is doubtful if it will ever be fully cleared 
up. The facts appear to be as follows : — within 
two days of the events just recorded, it is stated 
that the courageous archbishop, who was ready 
to go to the stake at once, was induced to sign 
no less than four different papers of submission 
or recantation, for the purpose of saving his life ; 
neither of them however, being explicit enough 
to satisfy his enemies. Accordingly a new scheme 
was devised. He was taken out of prison, invited 
to spend his time with learned men at the deanery 
of Christ's church, and in various respects per- 
mitted to enjoy the sweets of life and liberty. 
Meanwhile, artful emissaries were set to work to 
accomplish his ruin ; they said to him it was a 
great pity that so venerable, learned, and godly 
a man should die by the fire, that the queen was 
merciful, that his life would be spared if he took 



164 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

any pains to propitiate her, and that he might 
spend the remainder of his days in learned ease 
and retirement if he would only confess his errors 
and yield to the wishes of the queen. All this 
and much more of the same kind was said to 
him, and it seems to have had its effect ; he who 
was proof against hardships, torments of famine 
and prison, insults and scoffs, gradually gave way 
before kind treatment and seductive speeches, 
and signed a fifth paper of recantation, full and 
explicit, denying all that his previous life and 
writings had so earnestly maintained.* A few 
days afterwards he was sent to the stake ! 

Now, we hope our readers will notice particu- 
larly, the meanness and treachery of this whole 
proceeding. Cranmer's death had all along been 
determined on, and they knew it well who were 
seeking to undermine his integrity, by holding 
out hopes of escape from death. To save his 
lite he denied the truth, which at heart he always 
believed ; threats and promises were alternately 
presented to him, and up to the very last, the in- 
sidious wiles of the tempter were put in force to 
sink him, if possible, lower than ever, before he 
perished by the fire. What base lying and de- 

* See Appendix. 



HIS RETRACTION AND DEATH. 165 

ception was this ! What despicable conduct for 
bishops, clergy, doctors and nobles ! Who can 
look without scorn on men who give good words 
with their mouths, while they are stabbing their 
victim to the heart? 

But their malice overshot the mark : the great 
and good man — great and good, though fallen — 
when he knew that death was near, recoiled in 
horror from the duplic^ which had been used to- 
wards him, and was filled with the deepest an- 
guish and remorse for his weakness and cowardly 
yielding to temptation : his spirit revived ; his 
supplications for grace and strength were an- 
swered, and he nobly atoned for his fall. 

On the 21st of March, as had for days been 
arranged on, he was taken to St. Mary's church, 
Oxford, to listen to a sermon before his death, 
and to proclaim there his ignominious desertion 
of the cause of reform. The papists were ex- 
ulting over his downfall, but he disappointed their 
expectation. In the deepest distress, shedding 
many tears, and sobbing like a child in his sor- 
row, he offered up his prayers, and addressed the 
people, warning and urging them to their duty to 
God and to man. His address was closed in 
words which struck his hearers dumb : " Now, I 
come to the great thing that trouble th my con- 



166 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

science more than any other thing that ever I 
said or did in my life : and that is the setting 
abroad of writings contrary to the truth, which 
here now I renounce and refuse, as things writ- 
ten with my hand, contrary to the truth which I 
thought in my heart, and writ for fear of death, 
and to save my life, if it might be ; wherein I 
have written many things untrue. And foras- 
much, as my hand offended in writing contrary 
to my heart, therefore, my hand shall first be 
punished. For if I may come to the fire it shall 
first be burned. And as for the pope, I refuse 
him, as Christ's enemy and antichrist, with all 
false doctrine." 

The amazement and consternation of the as- 
sembly were so great, that Cranmer found time 
to get through with his retraction before he was 
interrupted : then their furious reproaches knew 
no bounds. They hastened him to the place of 
execution ; the fire was kindled, and the venera- 
ble old man, fastened to the stake, thrust his right 
hand into the flames, exclaiming, "This hand 
hath offended — this unworthy right hand!" and 
there he held it till it was consumed, and there 
patiently, firmly he stood, till the fire did its 
work, with eyes raised to heaven, and calling 
aloud, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" 



POLE ARCHBISHOP. 167 

O 3 r e who have fallen from your steadfastness, 
take courage by this example, and fight your way 
back again to truth and honor ; yea, even though 
your path lay through the fiery flame ; and as 
for you who by God's grace stand in your up- 
rightness, take heed lest ye fall. "Be not high- 
minded, but fear." 

The martyrdom of Cranmer, which is un- 
doubtedly to be attributed to the vindictive and 
unrelenting spirit of the queen, was succeeded on 
the next day by the consecration of cardinal Pole 
as archbishop of Canterbury. In several respects, 
his character stands in strong relief to that of the 
savage persecutors of Mary's reign, though there 
is no doubt, that he approved in general of the 
course pursued by the government, and was most 
intemperate and violent in his language towards 
those who favored reform. He seems to us to 
have been, like his royal mistress, a sincere bigot, 
and to have carried out legitimately the principles 
of the Romish Church ; with him, to deny the pa- 
pal supremacy and Romish dogmas, was equiva- 
lent to denial of the whole truth of the Gospel, 
and for heretics he neither had nor expressed any 
compassion; yet natural humanity told him, in 
spite of his passionate devotion to Rome, that 
cruelty and bloodshed illy consorted with the re- 



168 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

ligion of the merciful Saviour. Had his coun- 
sels alone been followed, it is probable that va- 
rious improvements would have been introduced, 
and needful reform in life and manners put inforre 
among the popish clergy, and though persecution' s 
fires would not have gone out, they would have 
burned less furiously and less indiscriminately. 
Persecution, however, continued unabated, with 
rather increasing malignity during the whole of 
Mary's reign ; and the consequence was, as 
Southey in his Book of the Church well remarks, 
"that as the havoc which had been committed 
under pretext of the Reformation, made the peo- 
ple rejoice in the re-establishment of popery, so 
popery was by these cruelties rendered an object 
of horror and hatred to the nation. Persons, 
whom neither books nor sermons would have 
reached, were converted to the Protestant faith 
by the constancy with which the martyrs suffered. 
A subject to which they would otherwise have 
remained indifferent, was forced upon their 
thoughts, and they felt that the principle could 
be of no light importance for which so many 
laid down their lives." 

- The next year, 1557, commenced with the vi- 
sitation of the two universities, in which some 
needful reforms were introduced. One of the 



close of mary's career. 169 

chief employments, however, of the visitors was 
painfully absurd. They dug up the bones of Bu- 
cer and Fagius, at Cambridge, and burnt them, 
because their former owners had been heretics, 
and those of Peter Martyr's wife (at Oxford,) 
they buried in a dung-heap, because she had died 
excommunicated ! It would have been well had 
they spent their impotent malice on such sub- 
jects as these ; but that would hardly have con- 
tented them. They burned and made away 
with living men and women, of all ranks and 
conditions ; and more than this, from the same 
source, about this time, England came very near 
being saddled with the Inquisition and all its 
horrors. Thanks be to God, that project fell 
through with. 

On the 1st of January, 1558, Calais, the last 
principal strong-hold of the English on the conti- 
nent, was taken by the French, chiefly, it would 
seem, through the culpable negligence of the 
government in not furnishing supplies. This 
catastrophe gave the finishing stroke to the un- 
popularity of the government of Mary, and the 
whole nation groaned under the weight of op- 
pression at home and disgrace abroad. The 
queen, herself, seems to have taken the loss of 
Calais much to heart, and during the course of 



170 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

the year her health rapidly declined. All hope 
of offspring had been given up, though at one 
time there was every prospect of so inauspicious 
an event ; and she herself, treated with cruel in- 
difference by her disappointed husband, under 
great suffering, and retaining her blinded and 
bigotted notions to the last, ended her inglorious 
reign, November 17th, 1558. Within a few hours 
cardinal Pole followed her to his eternal account. 
Mary's character is a chequered one. Sin- 
cerity in her religious views we freely accord to 
her ; her voluntary sacrifices fully prove this ; 
and we cannot but compassionate her hard lot in 
earlier days. It is not to be wondered at that 
her temper became soured and morose, when we 
consider how many long years she was under 
restraint and in actual danger; nor that she so 
brooded over her wrongs, that when she came to 
the throne, vindictiveness marked her course to- 
wards those who had offended her. Evil coun- 
sellors urged her on : she deemed it a matter of 
duty to extirpate heretics and to restore the popish 
religion at any and all hazards. The detestable 
maxims of those who kept in subjection the con- 
sciences of queens as well as subjects, effectually 
quieted any scruples which might have suggested 
themselves as to the lawfulness and policy of this 



mary's character. 171 

sanguinary course. So much blood was shed 
during the reign of Mary, the sufferings of the 
people were so extensive, and the loss and ruin 
of property, health and happiness, were so wide 
spread, that her name is associated with all that 
is horrible and repulsive. The impartial voice 
of history will always point to this memorable 
period as the reign of " bloody Mary," and as 
an exemplification of popery in all its naked de- 
formity and loathsomeness. 



CHAPTER IX. 



a. d. 1558—1563. 

Elizabeth's accession — her great popularity — hopes and expectations 
raised — character and policy of the queen — decidedly in favor 
of the Reformation, yet cautious — wisdom of her measures — 
contrast between Mary's and Elizabeth's course — crowned by the 
bishop of Carlisle — Romish bishops refuse to join n the ceremo- 
ny — acts of parliament — supreme governor — public discussion — 
bishops deprived — clergy take the oath — Parker archbishop — his 
consecration — Nag's Head fable — poverty of clergy — low state 
of learning — Jewell's apology — acts of convocation — articles 
adopted — second book of Homilies — Reformation substantially 
completed— conclusion. 

The death of queen Mary was a providential 
deliverance. It was so regarded by the nation at 
large, since none lamented her, none manifested 
even the appearance of sorrowfor her loss. " She 
died in the morning ; in the afternoon, the bells of 



Elizabeth's accession. 173 

all the churches in London were rung for the ac- 
cession of Elizabeth, and at night bonfires were 
made, and tables set out in the streets, at which 
the citizens caroused :" # — so odious had her short 
and inglorious reign become, and so detestable in 
the eyes of the English people, was the long and 
cruel persecution which she sanctioned and 
urged on. 

Elizabeth came to the throne with the tide of 
popular feeling most strongly and decidedly in 
her favor. Her accession was hailed on all sides 
with joy and exultation, and the extreme unpopu- 
larity of the last reign, served to throw additional 
brilliancy around that which was just commen- 
cing with so auspicious prospects. In the excess 
of joy, the most exalted hopes were entertained, 
the most sanguine expectations raised, and the 
wildest and most chimerical plans broached on a 
great variety of subjects, particularly in relation 
to religion. It was confidently thought and said, 
that now reform might be carried on to its fullest 
extent, and the Church purged thoroughly of the 
papal leaven of corruption ; and many over-zea- 
lous persons, not well considering what they were 
doing, were for proceeding at once to extremi- 

* Southey's Book of the Church. ^Wo. xiv. 



174 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

ties with popish practices, observances and doc- 
trines. 

Not so did the j^outhful queen think or act. She 
was a very wise and a cautious person, and not at 
all disposed to hasty measures or rash steps, 
even in the matter of reform. The many years 
of probation through which she had passed, when 
a single mistake, a single unwary word or two, a 
single inconsiderate act, would almost certainly 
have been her ruin, had rendered her cool in 
judgment, calm in her feelings, and exact in the 
expression and firm in the maintenance of her 
wishes. She knew both her strength and her 
weakness, and she determined on such a line of 
conduct as would increase the one and diminish 
the danger of the other, even though she was well 
aware, that by such a course, she would give of- 
fence to the zealots of both parties. No ill-con- 
sidered proceedings were to be allowed ; no line 
of policy which would alienate the feelings of her 
subjects, more than possibly could be avoided, 
was to be thought on for a moment ; and in her 
public and private acts, she steadily adhered to 
this determination. Thus she gained the confi- 
dence of the sober, sensible, and substantial por- 
tion of the community, without whose aid she 
could not have maintained herself, or raised Eng- 



Elizabeth's policy. 175 

land to a pitch of glory, never before equalled in 
the annals of that great nation. 

Her own convictions were decidedly in favor 
of the Reformation, and she from the first deter- 
mined to give it her countenance and support. 
Yet, she w^as far from intending to force the con- 
sciences of her subjects, or require them to be- 
lieve as she did, under peril of fire and sword, as 
had been the case in Mary's reign: all parties, 
both papists and bigotted protestants, were to be 
kindly and tenderly dealt with, and their scruples 
suffered within a certain limit ; and if possible, she 
earnestly desired to embrace in the reformed 
Church of England, that large body of persons, 
who, having been under popish influence for 
years, were devotedly attached to what they were 
told was Catholic doctrine and practice. The 
wisdom of her measures for her accomplishment 
of this end is worthy of especial note, particu- 
larly, as it was the very reverse of the course 
pursued by her sister. Mary, bent upon restoring 
popeiy, gave her subjects the choice of that or 
death : conscience was no plea with her : the 
people must be papists, or burn at the stake ; 
consequently, her whole reign was full of horrible 
scenes of bloodshed and misery. Elizabeth was 
too wise and too merciful to enact over again si- 



176 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

milar scenes on the opposite side ; she would force 
no man's conscience ; she would compel no one 
to obedience in religious matters, by threatening 
fire or sword, and visiting these dreadful torments 
upon the recusants ; far from it : she thought it 
better to proceed cautiously and carefully, to take 
the middle ground, to remove all needless and of- 
fensive expressions against the pope and Roman- 
ism, and to introduce changes gradually and after 
long deliberation. She did not deviate from this 
line of policy, until actually forced so to do ; nor 
did she proceed to extremities with any, till trea- 
sonable practices were going on under the name 
of religion. When the pope madly and wickedly 
required the Roman Catholics in England to leave 
the communion of the Church, where they had re- 
mained in peace for many years; when the detest- 
ible society of the Jesuits had sent its emissaries to 
stir up strife and disaffection, not against theChurch 
only, but against the government ; then the queen 
put forth the strong hand and punished with se- 
verity. But it should always be remembered, 
that no woman or child — as frequently in Mary's 
time — suffered, and no man was put to death by 
Elizabeth for his religion only. 

Such being her wishes and views, the first steps 
which she took were in accordance with the prin- 



CAUTIOUS PROCEEDINGS. 177 

ciples she had laid down for her own guidance. 
A committee was appointed to examine into the 
service of Edward VI. : they proceeded with pru- 
dence and care, and altered nothing simply for the 
sake of alteration. No persons were allowed to 
introduce changes, unsanctioned as yet bylaw ; 
and though the public service, viz. — the Litany, 
the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, the Gospel and 
Epistle, and the Ten Commandments were in 
English, yet the queen would not suffer any to 
preach or expound the latter until such time as 
permission was granted by law. She took early 
measures for the settling her foreign relations on 
a peaceful footing, so as to give her more time to 
regulate affairs at home. She chose wise and 
judicious ministers ; made Sir William Cecil, one of 
the greatest of statesmen, her prime minister, and 
even went so far as to retain in the privy council 
twelve of those who had served Mary in the same 
capacity : on all occasions, too, she sought, by 
condescending and affable manners, to render her- 
self popular, and give her a strong hold on the 
affections of her subjects. 

Elizabeth was crowned by Oglethorpe, bishop 

of Carlisle, January 15th, 1559 ; he was the only 

one of the Romish bishops who would consent to 

take part in the ceremony, a proceeding which only 

9 



178 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

exasperated the feelings of the queen against 
them, and did no good whatever to the cause 
which they wished to maintain. The parliament 
restored the queen's authority over all the people, 
and as Elizabeth scrupled about receiving, and 
declined the title of " Supreme Head" of the 
Church, it was altered to the less objectionable 
expression, " Supreme Governor" in ecclesiastical 
affairs. Her authority, however, was as ample 
as she could wish, and her temporal interests 
were cared for in a way most prejudicial to the 
resources of the Church. The act of uniformity 
was also passed this session, and the Prayer Book 
of Edward VI. restored. This took place after a 
discussion held in Westminster Abbey, between 
the popish adherents and the Reformers, in which 
discussion, the former behaved petulantly, argued 
illy, and gave up, with a very bad grace, on the 
second day. On the whole, this public trial of 
strength did good, because every one naturally 
concluded that the cause must be weak indeed, 
which would not bear one or two day's examina- 
tion. The convocation, which was held at the 
same time, manifested a strong preference for 
papistical notions and errors. 

By act of parliament, all the clergy were re- 
quired to take the oath of supremacy under pain 



Parker's consecration. 179 

of deprivation : the bishops, thinking to force the 
queen into their measures, refused, with one ex- 
ception, Kitchin, of Llandaff, and were ejected 
from their sees to the number of fourteen. The 
other orders of the clergy, amounting in all to 
9,400, thinking probably, that they could do better 
service to the cause of popery, by keeping their 
posts, took the oath readily, only one hundred and 
eighty-nine out of this number declining. 

The great difficulty now was, to fill up the 
bishoprics, vacant by deaths and deprivations, 
and had not Elizabeth been able to look to those 
who had gone abroad in Mary's reign, she would 
have been placed in a position of extreme per- 
plexity and uncertainty. Providentially, among 
the exiles, were some in episcopal orders : through 
these the succession was continued, and the va- 
cant sees filled up. Matthew Parker w^as selected 
for archbishop, a most wise choice, and the other 
sees were filled with able and efficient men. 
Parker was consecrated at Lambeth, December 
17th, 1559, by Barlow, late bishop of Bath and 
Wells, then elect of Chichester ; John Scory, 
late bishop of Chichester, then elect of Hertford; 
Miles Coverdale, late bishop of Exeter ; and 
John Hodgkins, suffragan bishop of Bedford ; the 






180 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

ceremony being performed according to king Ed- 
ward's ordinal.* 

The scandalous spoliations of church property 
during the preceding reigns, had rendered the 
clergy extremtely poor, and so diminished the re- 
venues of the Church, that it was with great dif- 
ficulty that persons could be found to fill the 
ranks of the ministry to any advantage : the state 
of learning in the universities was at the lowest 
ebb ; superstitions reigned where ignorance pre- 
vailed, and numbers were ordained from the 
ranks of mechanics and persons in the lower 
walks of life, oood and well-intentioned men no 
doubt, but quite unfitted for the duties of the sta- 
tion to which they had been advanced. Parker, 
however, soon found that this would not do, and 
put a stop to so unwise a course. 



* The contemptible story of the Nag's Head ordination, got up 
by the Romanists, more than forty years after the event o' Parker's 
consecration, is hardly worth the trouble of refuting, more especi- 
ally, since Dr. Lingard himself, the popish historian, is compelled to 
reject it utterly as fabulous. Every once in a while, the story is 
revived, as was the case a short time ago, a popish bishop in Phila- 
delphia, endeavoring to bolster up the exploded fiction ; but it is 
tolerably certain, that the papists themselves do not believe a word 
of it, though they try to make use of it for the purpose of denying 
the validity of the orders of the Church of England. 



THE ARTICLES ADOPTED. 181 

In January, 1563, parliament again met. The 
bishops seem previously to have been actively 
engaged in the duties of their office, and in pre- 
paring for the steps now about to be taken. The 
learned and eloquent bishop Jewel's far-famed 
Apology for the Church of England, had been 
issued the year before, and was then, as now, re- 
garded as authoritatively expressing the views 
of the Church which it defended so eloquently 
and well. The convocation met at the same 
time, and after a full and thorough discussion and 
examination of the forty-two articles of Edward 
Sixth reign, the number of thirty-nine was agreed 
upon and subscribed by both houses. They were 
printed in Latin and English. In March, the 
larger Catechism, as revised and enlarged by 
dean Nowel, was approved by the lower house of 
convocation. It is the Catechism of the Prayer 
Book, excepting the latter portion relating to the 
sacraments, which was added in 1604, after the 
Hampton Court Conference. The second Book 
of Homilies was printed about this period. Bishop 
Jewel and the archbishop had the principal hand 
in its composition. 

With the establishment of these articles and 
documents of faith, as contained in the Prayer 
Book, we may consider the Church of England 



182 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

to have attained that position which she has ever 
since held. Consequently, here the history of the 
Reformation, properly speaking, ends. What 
subsequently took place, in Elizabeth's reign, such 
as the troubles arising out of the pope's bull, which 
drove off many of the Romanists, who had con- 
tinued in communion with the Church of England 
up to this time, and which gave rise to a popish sect 
in England ; the painfully vexatious trials which 
sprung from the introduction of disputes brought 
from abroad, and which were the fruitful parent 
of puritans, non-conformists and sects of all sorts 
and descriptions ; the severe measures of Eliza- 
beth, to produce uniformity and conformity ; the 
necessity of capital executions, in order to crush 
the seditious and treasonable practices of the Je- 
suits and others ; and similar troubles and trials, 
come not within the scope of this sketch of the 
English Reformation ; for though they all, in dif- 
ferent ways it is true, have had more or less 
effect upon the tone of doctrine, the spirit of the 
clergy, and the connection of the Church with 
the state ; though they have raised up a host of 
enemies, and given rise to evils not easy to be 
repressed or light in their effects upon the well- 
being of the Church of England ; though they 
have tended to retard the perfecting of that good 



REFORMATION AS COMPLETED. 183 

work which the Reformers so nobly begun and 
so bravely carried on ; still they have never been 
able to produce any change of material conse- 
quence, whether in the doctrines or observances 
of the Church, and the Prayer Book remains, 
and, doubtless, will remain, the standard of doc- 
trine and practice, as of highest authority in the 
Church, next after the Holy Scriptures, of which, 
indeed, it is to be regarded as the sound inter- 
preter. 



CONCLUSION. 



We have now arrived at the close of the history 
of the Reformation. We might safely leave the 
whole subject with the thoughtful and intelligent, 
assured that they would draw right conclusions 
from what has been laid before them. We shall, 
however, even at the risk of being tedious, beg 
the indulgence of our readers a few moments, 
while we call their attention to some points which 
must never be forgotten by us who are the in- 
heritors of the blessings procured for the Church 
by the labors, prayers and deaths of the Refor- 
mers. We will do this as concisely as possible. 
1. The Reformation was absolutely required. 
Corruption had gone to such lengths that the 
present state of things could continue no longer. 
The faith of the Church as contained in the creeds 
had been added to, and so changed by numerous 



CONCLUSION* 185 

unscriptural additions, that it was buried out of 
sight, and had become almost wholly inoperative 
and unknown ; and the worship of the Church 
was excessively superstitious, puerile, and hurtful 
to the souls of men. 

2. The Reformation was lawfully conducted 
and carried through. The bishops and clergy, 
in their proper capacity, acted as the ambassa- 
dors for Christ and the rulers in the Church, 
and deferred in all things to Holy Scripture and 
ancient authors. Popish novelties were cast of£ 
Catholic truths retained and maintained, and the 
Church set free from the bondage of corrupt 
doctrine and abominable practice. 

3. The Church of England resumed her right- 
ful, original authority to regulate her own affairs. 
The Church existed in Britain in apostolic days, 
long before popery was dreamed of. By degrees, 
the bishop of Rome usurped dominion over in- 
dependent Churches, England being of the num- 
ber. At the Reformation, the bishops and clergy, 
the representatives of the Church of England, 
with hardly an exception, asserted and maintained 
the independence of the Church in the realm of 
England, and renounced the pope's supremacy. 

4. Consequently, in acting for herself, the 
Church of England is entirely free from the guilt 



1S6 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

of schism, charged upon her by the papists* 
She is equally free from the guilt of heretical de- 
parture from the faith once delivered to the saints 
— a charge which is so justly applicable to the 
Romish Church — since in all things she takes the 
Holy Scriptures for the standard, and the creeds 
of the Church as the expression of the true -faith. 

5. Every thing was done deliberately, cauti- 
ously and resolutely. The Scriptures were trans- 
lated and the version revised and improved several 
times : the public services were altered as little 
as might be, consistently with the preservation 
of sound doctrine : the people were led, step by 
step, into the clearer light of Gospel purity and 
truth; and the Prayer Book, when completed, 
was resolutely defended against both popish and 
puritan attacks. 

6. The Church of England was reformed, not 
founded anew: it was the old, original Church 

with the corruptions removed, not a new Church 
taking its start at this date. The Church was 
there before the pope ever sent to England or 
evef claimed authority in that kingdom : it con- 
tinued there while he was lording it over it ; and 
when Providence opened the way, it took its 
rightful position once more. The papists charge 
it upon the Church that it began with Cranmer, 



CONCLUSION. 187 

and Ridley, and Latimer, and some Protestants 
use similar language. Both are wrong, the one 
wickedly so, the other, perhaps carelessly so. 

7. The perpetual interference of the state was 
in reference mainly to temporal matters, the re- 
venues of the Church, the jurisdiction of bishops, 
&c. The state never pretended of itself to settle 
doctrine or give spiritual office and power, which 
are derived from Christ alone, through the 
channel of His appointment. Consequently the 
sneers of papists and others are without cause, 
when they revile the Church of England for the 
share which the state took in the Reformation. 

8. The Reformers are to be charitably judged. 
Their faults were the faults of the age in which 
they lived, and their errors were errors of judg- 
ment. The great work which they did is not to 
be undervalued on the one hand, nor they lauded 
too highly on the other. They labored under 
difficulties of which we have no adequate con- 
ception, and they accomplished a great reform 
with as little imperfection as can be expected at 
the hands of fallible men. Let us give them due 
honor and praise, and let us defend them from all 
unjust as well as ungenerous assaults. 

9. The Reformation has procured for us reli- 
gious freedom. It has unsealed the Fountain of 



188 REFORMATION IN ENGLAND. 

divine truth, given the mind liberty, set it free 
from popish tyranny, allowed the people to search 
into the Divine Oracles, required nothing to be 
believed as essential to salvation except what 
Holy Scripture contains, and bestowed upon us 
a book of devotions which contains the noblest 
remains of antiquity, and the most glowing as- 
pirations of devout souls in all past ages. 

Wherefore, let us lay to heart the lessons of 
warning and wisdom which the history of this 
eventful period so forcibly teaches. Let us render 
hearty thanks to Almighty God that He conducted 
safely through the great peril of fire and sword, 
the Church of England, to whom we, Protestant 
Episcopalians, owe so much, and whom we re- 
gard with so deep and true affection. Let us, 
especially, seek to show our appreciation of our 
manifold blessings and privileges, by striving to 
live holy and consistent lives, in all godly quiet- 
ness and honesty. Then shall we truly be in- 
heritors of the blessing, and God shall visit us 
for good. 



APPENDIX. 



APPEND IX. 



I* 

Glossary of I erms. 



Altar, the place on which gifts or sacrifices are offered 
to God. The Lord's table is figuratively termed an 
altar, since on it are offered to God the symbols of the 
one great sacrifice of Christ on the cross. In the 
early Church, for three hundred years or more, the 
Christian altars were of wood : stone was afterwards 
introduced, and since the papists perverted the use of 
them to support the dogma of transubstantiation, they 
were removed and tables of wood substituted. (See 
p. 114.) 

Annates, the first fruits, or first year's income of bishop- 
rics and benefices : they were paid to the pope by every 
bishop before he was invested. Subsequently, they 
became payable by the clergy in general. 

Appeals, were made to the pope in order to decide cases : 
by this means, they were carried out of England and 
decided at Rome. 



192 APPENDIX. 

Auricular Confession, confession made in private to the 
priest as a matter of duty. The Romish church makes 
this a sacrament, and by means of it has the people 
completely in its power. 

Bulls, mandates of the pope of Rome, so called from the 
seal {bulla) of lead, or sometimes of gold, affixed to it. 

Canons, (1) laws of the Church (2) clergy of a church 
or cathedral. The Canons Regular, were those as- 
sembled in convents, and living under the rules framed 
by Augustine. The rest of the clergy were called Se« 
cular Canons. 

Canonry, the office held by a canon. 

Celibacy of the clergy, the state of single life imposed 
upon the clergy by the church of Rome. 

Chancellor, a bishop's legal adviser and assistant in set- 
tling causes which arise in a diocese. 

Chantry, a little chapel or particular altar in a cathedral 
church, built and endowed for the maintenance of a 
priest, to sing masses for the soul of the founder to 
redeem it out of purgatory. 

Chapels are of various sorts — -free chapels are those 
founded by the king, and exempted from episcopal juris- 
diction. 

Chapter, consists of the dean, with a certain number of 
canons or prebendaries. 

Convocation, the assembly of the bishops and the other 
clergy of the Church of England, to consult on eccle- 
siastical affairs. 

Corporal presence. See Transubstantiation. 

Dean, the chief of the chapter and a magistrate, next in 



APPENDIX. 193 

degree to the bishop : so called, because he formerly 
presided over ten prebendaries or canons, (decanus, 
from decern, ten.) 

Deanery, office of a dean. 

Friars, name given to monks of all orders. They are 
generally distinguished into four principal branches : — 
1. Franciscans, Minors, or Grey Friars ; 2. Augus- 
tine ; 3. Dominicans, or Black Friars ; 4. Carmelites, 
or White Friars. 

Heresy, a denial of the faith, as it is contained in the 
creeds and standards of the Church. 

Holy Water, water blessed by the priest, and placed in a 
shallow basin at the entrance of the church. The 
people cross themselves with it on going into or leaving 
the church. 

Images, figures made of wood, stone or metal, represent- 
ing the Saviour, the Holy Trinity, the Virgin Mary, 
the saints, &c. 

Jurisdiction, the authority given by the king to exercise 
the office of bishop in a particular diocese : jurisdic- 
tion depends on the state ; the office of the bishop is 
derived from Christ Himself. 

Legate, (pope's,) a cardinal sent by the pope to act in his 
stead in a foreign country. He absolved the excom- 
municated, called synods, granted dispensations, filled 
up vacant benefices, heard appeals, &c. 

Martyr, one who lays down his life for religion. 

Mass, masses, (Latin, missa,) the form of celebrating the 
holy communion in the Romish church. The popish 
doctrine on this point is, that our Saviour is offered 



194 APPENDIX. 

anew as a sacrifice by the priest, at every celebration 
of the Eucharist. Masses are said to be effectual for 
the dead as well as the living. 

Mendicants, begging friars. They travel from place to 
place and live by contributions. 

Metropolitan, the bishop who presides over the other 
bishops of a province. 

Monastery, a convent or house for monks, mendicant fri- 
ars and nuns. Abbey, priory, nunnery and the like, 
are equivalent in meaning. 

Penance, some punishment or discipline imposed by the 
priest on penitents. 

Pete?*' s -pence, an annual tribute of one penny, paid at 
Rome, out of every family, at the feast of St. Peter. 

Pilgrimage, a journey made to some holy place in order 
to adore the relics of some deceased saint. They 
were excessively frequent in the middle ages. 

Pope, the supreme head of the Romish church. An- 
ciently, all bishops were called popes (or fathers) ; af- 
terwards the bishop of Rome usurped it to himself alone. 

Prcemunire, a law term given to a species of offence in 
the nature of a contempt against the king and his go- 
vernment. The name is derived from the first words 
of the writ, preparatory to a prosecution for the offence. 
This statute was made to restrain encroachments of 
Romish clergy. Henry VIII. used it as a tremendous 
engine of persecution. 

Prebend, stipend or salary of a prebendary. 

Prebendary, a clergyman attached to a cathedral or col- 
legiate church. 



APPENDIX. 195 

Primate, same as metropolitan : the archbishop of Can- 
terbury is primate of all England, the archbishop of 
York is primate of England. 

Regulars, those who observe the three vows of poverty, 
chastity and obedience. 

Relics, remains of bodies or clothes of saints or martyrs : 
they are kissed, revered, carried in procession, in fact, 
worshipped. 

Sacramentaries, those who believed with Zuingle, the 
Swiss Reformer, that consubstantiation (Luther's doc- 
trine,) is false. They held the Eucharist to be a mere 
commemoration. 

Schism, dividing the body of the Church, breaking off 
from its communion, and of course, losing the privileges 
which it enjoys. 

Shrine, the place where something sacred, or a relic is 
deposed it. 

Supremacy ; the bishop of Rome claims to be supreme 
over all bishops and Churches. (See p. 24.) 

Synod, a meeting of the clergy, generally of a province 
or kingdom. 

Transubstantiation, (See pp. 30, 108, 109, 199.) 



II. 

Translations of the Bible. 

A. D. 

706. Adhelm, Saxon Psalms. 
721. Egbert's Four Gospels. 
734. Bede's St. John's Gospel. 



196 APPENDIX. 

A. D. 

880. Alfred's Version of the Psalms. 
1340. Rolle's (or Hampole's) Psalms, &c. 
1380. Wickliffe's Bible. 
1526. Tyndale's New Testament. 

1530. < ' Pentateuch. 

1531. ' < Jonas. 
G. Joye, Isaiah. 

1534, s ; Jeremiah, Psalms, Song of Moses. 

1535. Coverdale's Bible. 

1537. Matthew's Bible (i. e. J. Rogers's.) 
1539. Great Bible (Cranmer's.) 

Taverner's Bible. 
1560. Geneva Bible. 
1568. Bishop's Bible (Parker's.) 
1582. Rhemes New Testament. 
1609. Douay Bible. 
1611. Authorized Version (the one now in use.) 



Romish versions. 



III. 

Dates relative to the Prayer Book. 

1545. The King's Primer, printed by authority. 

1548. Communion Service. 

1549. First Liturgy of Edward VI. published. 

1550. First Ordination Service published. 
1552. Second Liturgy of Edward VI. 

Second Ordination Service. 
1560. Liturgy of Elizabeth. 



APPENDIX. 197 

A, D, 

1604, Alterations introduced by James I. 

1633. " ' ' by James I. and Charles I. 

1661. Last revision. Authorized Liturgy. 



IV. 

The three Creeds so often spoken of in the course of 
the History of the Reformation are — the Apostles' Creed, 
the Nicene Creed, (both in the American Prayer Book,) 
and the Athanasian Creed, (in the English Prayer Book.) 
The Creed of the Romish Church, as established by the 
Council of Trent, (a. d. 1552) commonly called the Creed 
of Pope Pius IV , is as follows : — 

I. N. believe and profess firmly each and every thing 
which is contained in the symbol of faith which the ho!y 
Roman Church uses, viz. : — 

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of 
heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible : 

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son 
of God, begotten of his Father before all worlds ; God of 
God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, 
not made, being of one substance with the Father, by 
whom all things were made ; who for us men, and for our 
salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by 
the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made 
man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. 
He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose 
again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into 



198 



APPENDIX. 



heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father ; and 
he shall come again, with glory, to judge both the quick 
and the dead ; whose kingdom shall have no end. 

And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and giver 
of life, who proceedeth from the Father, and the Son ; 
who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped 
and glorified, who spake by the prophets. And I believe 
one catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one 
baptism for the remission of sins ; and I look for the re- 
surrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. 
Amen. 

The apostolic and ecclesiastical traditions, and the other 
observances and constitutions of the same Church, I most 
firmly admit and embrace. 

I also admit the holy Scripture, according to that sense 
which holy mother the Church has held and does hold, to 
whom it belongs to judge of the true sense and interpreta- 
tion of holy Scriptures. Nor will I ever receive and in- 
terpret it but according to the unanimous consent of the 
Fathers. 

I also profess that there are truly and properly seven 
sacraments of the new law, instituted by Jesus Christ 
our Lord, and necessary for the salvation of mankind, 
though not all for every one, namely, baptism, confirma- 
tion, the eucharist, penance, extreme unction, order, and 
matrimony ; and that they confer grace ; and that of these, 
baptism, confirmation, and order, cannot be repeated 
without sacrilege. I also receive and admit the received 
and approved ceremonies of the Catholic Church in the 
solemn administration of all the aforesaid sacraments. 



APPENDIX. 199 

I embrace and receive all things and every thing de- 
fined and declared by the holy council of Trent concern- 
ing original sin and concerning justification. 

I equally profess that in the mass there is offered to 
God a time, proper, and propitiatory sacrifice for the living 
and the dead : and that in the most holy sacrament of the 
eucharist there are truly, really, and substantially, the 
body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our 
Lord Jesus Christ ; and that a conversion is made of the 
whole substance of the bread into His body, of the whole 
substance of the wine into His blood : which conversion 
the Catholic Church calls tran substantiation. 

I confess also, that under one kind only, Christ whole 
and entire, and a true sacrament, is received. 

I constantly hold that there is a purgatory, and that the 
souls there detained are helped by the suffrages of the 
faithful. 

And likewise, that the saints reigning together with 
Christ are to be worshipped and invoked ; and that they 
offer prayers to God for us : and that their relics are to 
be worshipped. 

I most firmly assert that the images of Christ, and of 
the mother of God, ever a virgin, and also of the other 
saints, are to be had and retained ; and that due honor 
and worship is to be given them. 

I also affirm that the power of indulgences was left by 
Christ in the Church ; and that the use of them is most 
wholesome to Christian people. 

I acknowledge the Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Ro- 
man Church, the mother and mistress of all Churches ; 



200 



APPENDIX. 



and I promise and swear true obedience to the bishop of 
Rome, the successor of St. Peter, the prince of the apostles, 
and vicar of Jesus Christ. 

And all other things delivered, defined, and declared 
by the sacred canons, and the general councils, and es- 
pecially by the holy council of Trent, I receive without 
doubting, and profess : and withal, all things contrary 
thereto, and all heresies whatsoever, condemned, and 
rejected, and accursed by the Church, I equally condemn, 
reject, and accurse. 

This is the true Catholic faith, (out of which no man 
can be saved,) which at this time I freely profess and 
unfeignedly hold — and that I will be careful most con- 
stantly (with God's help) to hold fast and confess the 
same, entire and inviolate, to the very last breath of life, 
and that, to the utmost of my power, it be held, taught, 
and preached, by those put under me, or such as I shall 
have charge over in my calling, I, the said iV., promise, 
vow, and swear. So help me God, and these holy Gos- 
pels of God ! 






V. 

Oaths of bishops to the king and pope. 

In the text we have spoken briefly of the protest which 
Cranmer made when he took the customary oath to the 
pope. It will be convenient and show the need of some 
protestation or other on the part of a bishop, to have at 
hand the oaths which were taken by every bishop both to 



APPENDIX. 201 

the pope and the king. Very probably our readers will 
think, that the only difference between the archbishop and 
his compeers was, that he was more honest than they, 
and unwilling to take oaths so diametrically opposed to 
each other, without letting it be clearly understood, that 
he should regard himself bound in all respects by his 
oath to the king. The sentences in italic are worthy of 
special note, 

1. Oath to the pope :— 

I, John, bishop or abbot of A., from this hour forward, 
shall be faithful and obedient to St, Peter, and to the holy 
church of Rome, and to my lord the pope and his suc- 
cessors canonically entering. I shall not be of counsel 
nor consent that they shall lose either life or member, or 
shall be taken, or suffer any violence or any wrong, by 
any means. Their counsel to me credited by them, their 
messengers, or letters, I shall not willingly discover to 
any person. The papacy of Rome, the rules of the holy 
fathers, and the regality of St. Peter , I shall help and 
maintain, and defend against all men. The legate of the 
see apostolic, going and coming, I shall honorably entreat. 
The rights, honors, privileges, authorities, of the church 
of Rome, and of the pope and his successors, I shall 
cause to be conserved, defended, augmented, and pro- 
moted. I shall not be, in council, treaty, or any act in 
which any thing shall be imagined against him, or the 
church of Rome, their rights, seats, honors, or powers. 
And if I know any such to be moved or compassed, I 
shall resist it to my power, and as soon as I can I shall 
advertise him, or such as may give him knowledge. The 
10 



202 APPENDIX. 

rules of the holy fathers, the decrees, ordinances, sen 
tences, dispositions, reservations, provisions, and com- 
mandments, apostolic, to my power I shall keep, am 
cause to be kept of others. Heretics, schismatics, and 
rebels to our holy father and his successors I shall resist 
and persecute to my power. I shall come to the synod 
when I am called,, except I be letted by a canonical im- 
pediment. The thresholds of the apostles I shall visit 
yearly, personally, or by my deputy. I shall not alienate 
or sell my possessions, without the pope's counsel. So 
God help me and the holy evangelists. 

2. Oath to the king : — 

I, John, bishop of A., utterly renounce, and clearly for- 
sake, all such clauses, words, sentences, and grants, which 
I have, or shall have, hereafter of the pope's holiness, of 
and for the bishopric of A., that in anywise hath been, is, 
or hereafter may be hurtful or prejudicial to your highness, 
your heirs, dignity, privilege, or estate royal. And also 
I do swear, that I shall be faithful and true, and faith and 
truth I shall bear to you, my sovereign lord, and to your 
heirs, kings of the same, of life and limb, and yearly wor- 
ship, above all creatures, for to live and die for you and 
yours, against all people. And diligently I shall be at- 
tendant to all your needs and business, after my wit and 
power, and your counsel I shall keep and hold, knowledge 
ing myself to hold my bishopric of you only, beseeching 
you of restitution of the temporalities of the same, pro- 
mising, as before, that I shall be a faithful, true, and obe- 
dient subject to your said highness, heirs, and successors, 
during my life, and the services and other things due to 



• 



APPENDIX. 203 

your highness, for the restitution of the temporalities of 
the said bishopric, I shall truly do, and obediently perform. 
So God help me, and all saints. 



VI. 

Cranmer's Recantations. 

The archbishop is said to have made six different re- 
cantations within the space of only a few days : the first 
four are far from being express, and could have given little 
satisfaction to the papists : the sixth is excessively abject 
and wordy, and was probably written by cardinal Pole ; 
the fifth is the one usually quoted, and is translated by 
Fox as follows : — 

I, Thomas Cranmer, late archbishop of Canterbury 
do renounce, abhor, and detest all manner of heresies and 
errors of Luther and Zuinglius, and all other teachings 
which are contrary to sound and true doctrines. And I 
believe most constantly in my heart, and with my mouthy 
I confess, one holy and Catholic Church visible, without 
the which there is no salvation, and thereof I acknowledge 
the bishop of Rome to be supreme head in earth, whom I 
acknowledge to be the highest bishop and pope, and 
Christ's vicar, unto whom all Christian people ought to 
be subject. And as concerning the sacraments, I believe 
and worship in the sacrament of the altar the very body 
and blood of Christ, being contained most truly under 
the forms of bread and wine, the bread through the mighty 
power of God being turned into the body of our Saviour 



204 APPENDIX, 

Jesus Christ, and the wine into His blood. And in tlie 
other six sacraments also, like as in this, I believe and 
hold as the universal Church holdeth, and the Church of 
Rome judgeth and determineth. Furthermore, I believe 
that there is a place of purgatory, where souls departed 
are punished for a time, for whom the Church doth godlily 
and wholesomely pray, like as it doth honor saints, and 
maketh prayers to them. Finally, in all things I profess, 
that I do not otherwise believe than the Catholic Church, 
and the Church of Rome, holdeth and teacheth. I am 
sorry that I ever held or thought otherwise. And I be- 
seech Almighty God, that of His mercy He will vouch- 
safe to forgive me whatsoever I have offended against 
God or His Church ; and also I desire and beseech all 
Christian people to pray for me. And all such as have 
been deceived either by my example or doctrine, I require 
them by the blood of Jesus Christ that they will return 
to the unity of the Church, that we may be all of one 
mind without schism or division. And to conclude, as I 
submit myself to the Catholic Church of Christ, and to 
the supreme head thereof, so I submit myself unto the 
most excellent majesties of Philip and Mary, king and 
queen of this realm of England, &c, and to all their 
laws and ordinances, being ready always as a faithful sub- 
ject ever to obey them. And God is my witness, that I 
have not done this for favor or fear of any person, but 
willingly, and of my own mind, as well to the discharge of 
my own conscience as to the instruction of others. 

Per me Thomam Cranmer. 
Witnesses to ) Frater Johannes de Villa Garcina. 
this subscription, S Henricus Sydall* 



APPENDIX. 205 

VII. 

List of Books on the Reformation, 

Which may be consulted with advantage by those who 
wish further information on the points briefly treated of 
in this volume : — - 

Bishop Burnet's History of the Reformation, 3 vols. 8vo. 

Bishop Short's History of the Church of England, one 
vol. 8vo. 

Rev. I. J. Blunt's Sketch of the Reformation in En- 
gland, one vol. 12mo. 

Southey's Book of the Church, 8vo. 

Rev. C, W. Le Bas's Lives of Wicklifle and Cran* 
mer, 3 vols. 18mo. 

OCT* The above have been re -published in the United 
States, and can be obtained at reasonable prices. 

Add to these, Carwithen's History of the Church of 
England, 3 vols. 8vo. 

Fox's Book of Martyr's, 3 vols. 8vo., (the second and 
third vols, particularly valuable ) 

Fuller's Church History of Britain. 

Le Bas's Life of Bishop Jewel. 

Strype's Lives, and Ecclesiastical Memorials. 

Wordsworth's Ecclesiastical Biography. 



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